Russian Prime Minister Sets Deadline For Adopting New Approach to Cryptocurrencies

The wave of change has entered into the Russian cryptocurrency market as their finance ministry advocates for a new regulatory framework to be adopted by the country’s legislative body. This proposition entails that cryptocurrencies will be classified under three separate legal categories or tiers as set by the Russian legislative body law. These tiers are virtual assets, technical tokens, and digital finance asses. Since these laws look to provide more clarity for companies, traders, and tax specialists, the Prime Minister, Dmitry Medvedev, has set 1 November to be the deadline for adopting the bill.

Cryptocurrencies that allow users to transfer value like Bitcoin are classified as Virtual assets. On the other hand, Ethereum is to be classified as a technical token, as the entire Ethereum network depends on it to function. ICO tokens are classified as Digital finance assets since they often include dividends and other benefits.

According to the report,in early 2019, Vladimir Putin urged the government to go for a more regulated cryptocurrency industry rather than banning cryptocurrency. Though this took regulators a while, it seems they have finally come up with a complete set of rules.   

This separation of digital assets will enable the Russian legislative body to apply different rules for each category, depending on their role in the market.

"It’s a move that enables regulators and enforcement agencies to make customized rules for each type of crypto-asset. It also minimizes the risks that come with guessing or assuming which is the right law to follow for digital assets," the report read.

It is then expected that the three-tier law would help to benefit traders, end-users, and companies investing in cryptocurrency.

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