Russia Delays Cryptocurrency Mining Bill: Report

According to a report by the local news outlet Tass on December 23, Russia’s cryptocurrency mining bill, which would legalize cryptocurrency mining and the sale of mined cryptocurrency, is currently on hold and is anticipated to be adopted by January.

On November 17, 2022, the bill was proposed in the State Duma, the lower house of the Russian parliament. 

Anatoly Aksakov, the State Duma’s financial market committee chairman at the time, predicted that the law would pass through all three trials in December.

As per Aksakov, the bill’s approval was postponed because of concerns that it may make it easier for capital flight out of Russia. 

He states that “…according to the critics of the bill, it could create channels for capital flight from our country. Ostensibly, it will be the activity of buying cryptocurrency, but in fact, the main objective will be capital flight from our country.”

Despite the delay, Aksakov is certain that the mining measure will eventually be approved in January 2023 after being sufficiently amended to answer critics’ concerns. 

He did point out that the bill’s passage might be further delayed if a deal with the critics is not reached by the end of the month.

With the approval of the bill, citizens would be able to mine cryptocurrencies lawfully, enabling Russian miners to sell the cryptocurrency they have mined on international marketplaces. 

The bill will also allow miners to trade cryptocurrency they have produced within the nation under an “experimental legal regime,” according to a Nov. 18 article from Interfax.

Russia working on Crypto Law

A proposed framework to permit the use of cryptocurrencies for international transactions was developed by Russia in September. The Russian central bank intends to explore the use of cryptocurrencies, according to a Dec. 19 TASS report.

Meanwhile, it was recently claimed that Russia is attempting to integrate cryptocurrencies into its financial system, in addition with the President Vladimir Putin, who has discussed the benefits of building a global payment system based on blockchain technology.