Russia’s Federation Council sets up working group on crypto regulations – regulation

The Federation Council of the Russian Legislature is forming a working group to propose comprehensive regulations for cryptocurrencies. Officials from several ministries and government agencies, as well as members of the country's expanding crypto industry, will join the panel.

Federation Council prepares new regulations for cryptocurrencies in Russia

The Federation Council, the upper house of the Russian parliament, is establishing a group of experts tasked with developing additional regulations for Russia's growing crypto space. Cryptocurrencies are now only partially regulated by the Law “On Digital Financial Assets,” and officials have recognized the need to issue more rules to cover various aspects such as circulation and taxation.

In addition to lawmakers, the group will include representatives from the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Economic Development, Russia's financial regulator Rosfinmonitoring, the Ministry of Digital Development, the Federal Tax Service, the Bank of Russia and law enforcement agencies. Quoted by Forklog, Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council Nikolai Zhuravlev announced At the Finopolis 2021 Forum to which members of the cryptocurrency industry are also invited.

While attending the event on innovative financial technologies, Zhuravlev noted that the use of cryptocurrency as a means of payment is prohibited in Russia. But then he also commented that whether other digital coin operations should be banned is a difficult and contentious question.

According to a previous statement by the first deputy chairwoman of the Federation Council's Budget and Financial Markets Committee, Elena Perminova, the House is currently analyzing the presence of cryptocurrencies in the Russian financial market. Perminova said last month that the chamber intended to “address this issue seriously.”

At the end of November, the lower house of the Russian Federal Assembly, which State Duma, announced that it is also forming a working group of lawmakers that will try to answer outstanding questions about the regulation of decentralized digital currencies in the Russian Federation.

The group will hold its first meetings in the near future, the chairman of the parliamentary financial markets committee Anatoly Aksakov announced at that time. Its members will seek to resolve crypto-related issues such as the legalization of mining and the introduction of taxation on crypto holdings and profits.

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