The Ministry of Finance of Russia submitted to the government a bill on the regulation of cryptocurrencies. On Monday, February 21, the department announced on its website.
If the bill is passed, the sale and purchase of digital currency will be possible only if the client is identified. It is planned to allow cryptocurrency transactions exclusively to banks using a bank account.
“Thus, the identification of customers will be carried out both by operators when accepting customers for service, and by banks when opening a bank account. Operators, like banks, will be required to carry out compliance procedures and inform Rosfinmonitoring of identified suspicious transactions,” the department noted.
The Ministry of Finance proposes to create a register of operators. It may include exchangers that carry out the circulation of cryptocurrencies. Operators will be required to obtain a license to operate. Control over their activities will be carried out by the authority, which will be determined by the government.
Among the criteria by which the work of exchangers will be checked, the agency identified the following: corporate governance, reporting, storage of information, internal control, audit, risk management system and the amount of own funds.
“In order to protect the rights and interests of investors, exchanges will be required to inform citizens about the high risks associated with the acquisition of digital currencies. Citizens will have to undergo online testing before purchasing a cryptocurrency, which will determine the level of knowledge about the specifics of investing in digital currencies and awareness of possible risks. Upon successful completion of testing, citizens can invest in digital currencies up to 600 thousand rubles annually. If the test is not passed, then the maximum amount of investments will be limited to 50 thousand rubles. Qualified investors and legal entities will make transactions without restrictions,” the statement said.
Cryptocurrency, which belongs to the exchange, should be separated from the assets of bidders, the agency believes. The Ministry of Finance also proposes to prohibit the withdrawal of digital currency of legal entities and citizens to collect the debts of the operator.
“The Ministry of Finance of Russia also received proposals from the Bank of Russia (with a draft legislative amendment) to impose a ban on the organization of the issuance and circulation of digital currencies, as well as to introduce liability for relevant offenses,” the message says.
On February 18, the media wrote that the Central Bank had developed bills to ban the organization of the issuance and circulation of private digital currency. According to the documents, violation of these requirements threatens with fines. For citizens and officials, fines for accepting payments in private digital currency will amount to 30 thousand to 50 thousand rubles, for legal entities – from 700 thousand to 1 million rubles.
In January, the Central Bank released a report “Cryptocurrencies: Trends, Risks, Measures”, which stated that such currencies have the characteristics of a financial pyramid and their spread poses significant threats to the well-being of Russian citizens.
The position of the regulator was not supported by departments, including the Ministry of Finance, Rosfinmonitoring and the Ministry of Digital Development. As a result, the government approved a 15-point roadmap to regulate the industry by the end of 2022.
Source: IZ
Jane Stock is a technology author, who has written for 24 Hours World. She writes about the latest in technology news and trends, and is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to improve his audience’s experience.
