The country's foreign economic activity will recover, but risks are possible
A law on the legalization of cryptocurrency mining has been adopted in Russia. Only Russian legal entities and individual entrepreneurs included in the relevant register will have the right to mine. Individuals, under certain conditions, will be able to mine cryptocurrency without being included in this list.
The law is planned to come into force on November 1. The State Duma also adopted a document allowing foreign trade settlements and exchange trading in cryptocurrency under experimental legal regimes from September 1.
How will the legalization of mining affect the Russian economy and what risks may arise if the laws are not fully worked out? This is in the material of MK.
The State Duma adopted in the second reading a bill that, from November 1, 2024, will allow cryptocurrency mining activities in Russia. Requirements for individuals and legal entities mining digital currency will be established by the government in agreement with the Central Bank. Meanwhile, the Cabinet of Ministers will be able to ban digital currency mining in certain regions of the country.
The main reason for the adoption of the law is sanctions, says Denis Astafyev, founder of the investment company SharesPro. According to him, they are the ones that are holding back Russia's foreign economic activity and the development of enterprises working with foreign partners.
«The law on the legalization of stablecoins (digital currency, the value of which is tied to the rate of another asset, — MK) will allow us to bypass these issues,» the expert continues. — Firstly, using cryptocurrency transfers, it is possible to work with external counterparties officially. We know that recently there have been major difficulties in transfers with the same China. Secondly, the legalization of stablecoins will make all operations of companies that will report on these transactions transparent. Thirdly, this is the regulation of flows, minimizing the possibility of the development of a black market. We understand that such payments have been and will be made. But a transparent model will allow us to track all international transactions, as well as implement tax collection on all such transactions.»
Possible disadvantages may arise if the bills are not sufficiently developed, warns the interlocutor of MK. According to Astafyev, in this case, crypto assets can be used in illegal operations, such as money laundering or even «financial terrorism.»
«In addition, the risk of cyber attacks may increase,» the expert believes. «Another difficulty may be the fluctuation of the cryptocurrency rate depending on the market situation. At the initial stages, this may entail difficulties in calculations.»