Russia to recognize Bitcoin as legally protected property

Recently, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said that the Russian government intends to guide the development of cryptocurrency in Russia onto a "civilized path" so that its owners can protect their rights.
At a government meeting last Thursday, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin spoke about Russia's plans for cryptocurrency regulation. He said: "This is a relatively new tool, and interest in it is growing. The government plans to guide the development of the crypto market on a civilized path, so that owners of these assets can protect their rights and interests." Mishustin also said that one of the decisions to be discussed by the government involves the regulation of cryptocurrencies. He said: "We will make some changes to the tax code. Digital financial assets will be recognized as property. In the event of any violations of the law, their owners will be able to rely on legal protection and defend their property rights in court."
Mishustin replaced former Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev in January 2020, when he urged Russia to prioritize the development of the digital economy.
Earlier this month, the Russian parliament, the State Duma, will discuss a new draft law that will make Russians disclose their gains and holdings of "electronic" assets on overseas platforms, a move that could have an impact on crypto trading. The draft proposes that citizens will need to report to the state tax authorities if their annual transactions on overseas digital platforms exceed $7,730. In addition, the bill's provisions also give lawmakers and the Federal Tax Service (FTS) authority to apply to crypto wallets and exchange accounts.
The bill is scheduled to be passed in January next year, and the Russian Ministry of Finance hopes that the disclosure of crypto assets for the next tax year will be carried out before April 30, 2022. The bill states that the declared value of cryptocurrencies will be calculated by the state tax agency based on the price at the time of the transaction.
Meanwhile, major Russian companies are rushing to launch crypto and blockchain -related services overseas. On November 19, Gazprombank Swiss, a subsidiary of one of Russia's largest banks, launched a bitcoin trading service after obtaining approval from Swiss regulators. On November 6, Russian energy giant En+ and Russia's largest bitcoin miner hosting service provider BitRiver jointly established a bitcoin mining service Bit+. Bit+ does not mine itself, but provides mining hosting services to customers. (Golden Finance)