Lawmakers reject mining bill legalizing cryptocurrency payments in Russia.
While lawmakers turned down that proposal, which also aimed to legalize crypto payments in the country, another draft law on mining, which permits cross-border transactions with digital assets, is expected in the legislature in the near future.This week, the State Duma of the Russian Federal Assembly voted to reject a draft law on cryptocurrency mining. The bill “On Mining in the Russian Federation,” was submitted earlier by members of the liberal New People faction.
Representatives of the parliamentary committees that reviewed the legislation also described it as fragmented and ambiguous, the Russian crypto news outlet Bits.media reported. They highlighted it doesn’t specify how miners and their equipment would be registered or how those who mine as individual entrepreneurs would be identified.
Meanwhile, another legislative proposal to regulate the extraction of digital currencies has been put forward this week, too. According to Anton Gorelkin, deputy chairman of the Duma Committee on Information Policy, this new draft, which will contain provisions permitting cross-border crypto payments and facilitating the development of domestic crypto infrastructure, will be filed soon.
The future of cryptocurrencies and related activities such as mining has been the subject of prolonged discussions between government institutions in Moscow over the past year. Most officials maintain they should not be used for payments in Russia but due to the sanctions pressure the idea to legalize international crypto settlements has been gaining support.