The bill on mining and cross-border transactions with cryptocurrencies will be adopted in the first half of 2023 – the norm will take effect from July, Anatoly Aksakov, head of the State Duma committee on the financial market, told cryptonewsherald. According to him, it was decided to add liability for non-compliance with the law to the document, therefore, amendments to the Criminal Code are being prepared. Market participants believe that regulation should be introduced as soon as possible. This will increase the investment attractiveness and security of the industry, as well as help international settlements.. Criminal liability should be provided for illegal consumption of electricity for mining and fraud, experts believe.
Mining in law
The draft law on the regulation of mining, which involves the legalization of the extraction of cryptocurrencies and the declaration of income from this activity, will prescribe liability for non-compliance, Anatoly Aksakov told cryptonewsherald. The head of the State Duma committee on the financial market specified that amendments to the Criminal Code are being prepared. Responsibility will follow, for example, if market participants do not correctly record and reflect in the documents the turnover of digital currency.
— Either work according to the law, or do not work in this area at allthe deputy stressed.
Photo: Izvestiya/Zurab Javakhadze
According to him, the bill will be adopted in the first half of 2023, and from July the norm will come into force. The document also will include regulation of cross-border transactions with cryptocurrencies. At the same time, there is no need to change anything in the tax legislation.: the rate will depend on the business scheme, Anatoly Aksakov noted. For example, income tax or turnover tax may be used.
Already, there are companies and individuals who voluntarily make contributions to the budget for transactions with cryptocurrencies, the deputy previously reported.
Amendments to the draft law “On digital financial assets, digital currency and on amendments to certain legislative acts of the Russian Federation”, which relate to mining, were planned to be adopted in the first reading as early as December 2022. However, the consideration was postponed. The bill was submitted to the State Duma by representatives of all factions in November. The document regulates crypto mining activities, and also, for example, allows its sale without the use of Russian infrastructure.
The bill is now preparing for consideration in the first reading., cryptonewsherald was reminded in the press service of the Central Bank. They explained there: the document provides for the creation of legal conditions for mining, and also allows the use of cryptocurrencies in foreign economic transactions under an experimental legal regime. In addition, the document defines a number of mandatory requirements and restrictions for miners and other participants in legal relations with digital currencies.
Photo: Izvestiya/Zurab Javakhadze
The Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Energy did not answer cryptonewsherald’s questions about when they expect the adoption of the bill and for what violations criminal liability will threaten.
Mining under control
With the introduction of legislative regulation, first of all, there will be a definition of concepts and a unified approach to assessing actions in the field of cryptocurrency mining, said Alexei Tarapovsky, founder of Anderida Financial Group. So, for example, the concept of “illegal mining” is now absent, although when using electricity for commercial purposes, consumers are required to pay business tariffs and many players try to avoid this.
Most likely, criminal liability will be introduced in relation to mining farms that illegally connect to residential buildings, which leads to failures in the supply of energy resources, the expert believes. In his opinion, the legislation will whitewash the market and make it more attractive and safe for investors.
Photo: Izvestiya/Zurab Javakhadze
Thanks to high-quality and balanced regulation, institutional investors will come to the digital finance industry, predicts the financial director of the mining pool of the EMCD company (is developing software for mining cryptocurrencies) Stanislav Akulinkin. Besides, additional jobs will be created and tax revenues to the budgets of all levels will increase.
Oleg Ogiyenko, director for government relations at BitRiver, agrees with this. In his opinion, if balanced regulation is adopted, Russian industrial miners will also be able to provide new liquidity for foreign economic activity. The circulation of digital currency can be implemented within the framework of an experimental legal regime, where data center operators will, under state control, sell produced coins for fiat money.
Accounting for mining capacities, the principle of “know your client” (KYC) on crypto exchanges and transaction verification services will allow you to track transactions with digital currencies even more deeply than the movement of non-cash money, said Evgenia Burova, director of communications at the Garantex cryptocurrency exchange. In her opinion, it is excessive to introduce criminal liability for illegal mining. The Criminal Code defines penalties for fraud, damage to property, health and life of people, so there are already enough tools.
Photo: Izvestiya/Zurab Javakhadze
Wherein introduce regulation of mining and cross-border payments using digital currencies is necessary, and as soon as possible, says the expert. She explained: mining is important as a source of “pure” cryptocurrency. In addition, 90% of Russian businesses experience significant difficulties with international settlements. For most businesses, SWIFT transfers are no longer available due to restrictions.
Cryptocurrency transfers are much faster than traditional banking transactions, said Anton Kutushev, a lawyer for digital financial assets and blockchain technologies at Anatomy Prava. According to him, there is no need to worry about the imposition of sanctions on cross-border transactions with digital currencies. There are more than 230 cryptocurrency platforms in the world, and those who wanted to restrict access to Russians did so almost immediately.
It is now necessary to introduce regulation of mining in the Russian Federation, Anton Kutushev agrees. In his opinion, criminal liability can be envisaged for evading payment for electricity when mining cryptocurrencies, as well as for fraud and money laundering.
Comments (No)