Crypto mining could be legal in Russia as soon as 2024, according to the Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Financial Market Anatoly Aksakov.
Aksakov remarked at the 2023 St Petersburg International Economic Forum on the role mining can play in the Russian economy.
According to the event’s English interpreter, the legislator stated that the first reading of the four bills that will legalize crypto mining in the country is scheduled for July, and the State Duma will adopt the bills. It will kick start the process for them to become law.
Besides regulating crypto mining, the bills will cover topics such as crypto mining regulations, taxation of miners, and penalties for illegal mining activities.
According to the Russian Ministry of Finance, the country’s miners generate approximately $4 billion worth of crypto, resulting in around $1.2 billion in profits. The Ministry also emphasized Russia’s growing role in the mining space, highlighting that it produces the second-largest mining power in the world.
Russia is embracing crypto for international transactions.
However, Russian authorities’ dance with crypto is not about internal adoption but its usage for cross-border transactions.
With the country facing sanctions from various world powers over its invasion of Ukraine, authorities have been looking at ways to lessen the impact on international trade.
Aksakov noted that the mined cryptocurrencies would be used for cross-border settlements with foreign partners. This aligns with earlier reports that the country’s Central Bank wants to allow Russian entities to establish specialized authorized organizations for cryptocurrency mining.
Additionally, the regulator, which has an anti-crypto stance, supports using crypto for international payments.
More recently, one of the largest banks in the Federation, Rosbank, showed intent to support payments for imported goods and services in crypto. The bank stated that these transactions would strictly comply with existing legislative requirements.
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