on the crypto
The bill made it very clear that the use of cryptocurrencies in the country will be limited to investments only. In no form or way will it be used for payment, as this aspect of digital currencies continues to remain prohibited.
Russia defines investments in cryptocurrencies
In the proposed law, the Ministry of Finance explicitly mentioned that for cryptocurrency exchanges to continue operating in the country, they will have to follow specific rules.
These rules include corporate governance, information retention, internal control and audit, the risk management system, and the amount of own funds held by the exchanges.
Furthermore, once the bill is approved, sales of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin will only be approved after knowing the customer's identity.
The bill stated that the operating banks conducting transactions to and from the accounts will have to enforce compliance procedures and notify the authorities of suspicious transactions.
Russia is making sure that the law is as much as possible in favor of the safety of its citizens, and for the same reason, it has set specific requirements before it can trade cryptocurrencies.
Particular online tests must be passed by an individual, determining how much knowledge one has on the finer details of investing in cryptocurrencies.
It will not prevent citizens from trading even if they fail the test
After passing that, the only difference would be that the annual maximum threshold for cryptocurrency investments would be 600k Rubles ($ 7,548). At the same time, failing the test would reduce the threshold to just 50k rubles ($ 627,75). Hence, citizens will be able to continue trading on platforms such as Bitcoin Revolutionif they wanted to.
In line with the threshold, the bill stated:
"To protect the rights and interests of investors, exchanges will be obliged to inform citizens about the high risks associated with the purchase of digital currencies"
Adding further to the same, the Ministry specified:
“In addition, for the safety of cryptocurrency client funds, a nominal account regime is being introduced, on which bidders' funds will be located. Exchanges and exchanges will be required to maintain records indicating the addresses - identifiers of each owner of digital currencies. The bill also provides for the maintenance of these registers ".
The prohibition of the Central Bank
When the Bank of Russia proposed a ban on mining and trading in the country, the outcry from the community prompted the Ministry of Finance to take this step. Commenting on the same, the Ministry stated that it has also received proposals from the Bank of Russia to introduce a ban on the issuance of digital currencies, as well as the introduction of liability for related crimes.
Just four days ago, the Russian finance minister said a ban on cryptocurrencies is impossible, because it would be like banning the internet. So, it's not surprising that his comments came in the days leading up to the bill.
