The Finance Ministry of Russia submits an updated crypto bill

The government of Russia has had an apprehensive attitude towards crypto in general. Moreover, its central bank has had an even more apprehensive attitude and has called for an outright ban. However, the Ministry of Finance in Russia has recently submitted an updated version of the “Digital Currency” or crypto bill.

According to the draft, investors and “professional purchasers of digital currency” have unrestricted access to crypto assets. However, normal residents can purchase a maximum of 600,000 rubles ($7,000) worth of crypto each year.

Also, residents need to undertake a special exam in order to purchase crypto. Residents who fail to pass this test can only acquire coins with a total value of fewer than 50,000 rubles annually ($600 as per writing).

The law states “digital currency” as a set of electronic data that is not a monetary unit of the Russian federation but an accepted form of payment.

With this wording, the government aims to provide the legal basis for the employment of crypto in payments. However, an interesting point to note is that one must stay in the country for at least 183 days within 12 months in order to accept crypto as payment for goods and services.

The finance ministry in Russia has lobbied for legalizing the circulation of crypto for a long time. On the other hand, the central bank of Russia has opposed the idea and suggested a ban on crypto-related services.

These services include crypto mining, crypto trading, and crypto issuing. While many other institutions are backing the legalization of crypto, the general consensus among is that no currency should operate in the country other than the rubble.

Related Stories:

• Bank of Russia has rejected the use of Cryptocurrency to evade sanctions
• IMF has warned that Russia Sanctions can reduce US Dollar Dominance