The State Duma has adopted in the second and third readings a bill on the legalization of cryptocurrency mining in Russia. The document introduces measures to control the circulation of digital currency.
According to the law, the requirements for the activities of individuals and legal entities engaged in mining, as well as for participants in mining pools and organizers of their activities, will be established by the government of the Russian Federation in agreement with the Central Bank. The Ministry of Digital Development will monitor compliance with the requirements.
Only Russian legal entities and individual entrepreneurs who are included in the relevant register will have the right to mine. Individuals can engage in mining without being included in the register if they do not exceed the established energy consumption limits.
Individuals with an outstanding or unexpunged criminal record for certain crimes, as well as legal entities, if they or their founders, beneficial owners, or executive body do not meet the requirements for business reputation, will not be able to engage in mining. The government may also establish prohibitions on mining in certain regions of the Russian Federation and on combining mining activities with activities in the field of electric power industry.
In order to prevent the use of digital currencies for money laundering or terrorist financing, miners are required to provide information to the authorized body about the receipt of digital currency and about address identifiers. Rosfinmonitoring will maintain a list of address identifiers suspected of being used for criminal purposes.
Foreign digital financial assets (DFAs) will be able to trade on Russian blockchain platforms. The Bank of Russia has the right to impose a ban on the placement of individual issues if this poses a threat to the financial stability of the Russian Federation.
The law prohibits advertising of digital currencies and goods for their organization and circulation, as well as advertising of DFAs with an indication of the possibility of their acquisition only by individual entrepreneurs or legal entities.
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