Russian lawmakers are working on a law to fill regulatory gaps in the crypto space. The legislation may introduce special examinations for unskilled investors wishing to purchase cryptocurrencies with a total annual value of more than 600,000 rubles ($ 7,700). One of its sponsors, the deputy chairman of the parliamentary committee on security and anti-corruption Andrey Lugovoy, told the Izvestia newspaper that the new law concerns "strict regulation" of the sector. The bill is expected to land in parliament during the spring session of the lower house of parliament, the deputy noted. Before that, it will be discussed with the relevant ministries, law enforcement agencies and market players. Any amendments will be approved by a working group composed of members of the Duma and representatives of government institutions, including the Central Bank of Russia. The monetary authority has been at odds with other regulators for its uncompromising stance on cryptocurrencies. In a recently published consultation paper, the Bank of Russia proposed a wide-ranging ban on cryptocurrency-related activities such as issuing, trading and mining that failed to enlist the backing of executive and legislative powers. of Moscow.
Andrey Lugovoy also revealed that the forthcoming law will attempt to regulate the expanding cryptocurrency mining in Russia, especially after the crackdown on the industry in China. In addition to businesses, ordinary people in energy-rich regions have found an additional source of income by taking advantage of subsidized electricity with crypto-farms that operate in basements and garages. Electricity tariffs for these miners should be the same as those for businesses, the legislator told the publication, insisting that "garage mining" with low-cost household energy should be stopped. In late December, the federal government took a step in this direction by allowing regional authorities to raise electricity rates for residential areas when consumption exceeds a certain threshold. The authors of the bill plan to clearly define which entities will be allowed to work with cryptocurrencies. These will include licensed banks, provided they obtain a special license, crypto exchanges, and other digital money exchangers. Foreign-based crypto trading platforms that want to operate in the Russian Federation will be subject to a "special" registration regime, Lugovoy noted without going into further detail.