Russia passes digital financial assets bill to legalize crypto assets

Russia's legislative body, the State Duma, passed the "Digital Financial Assets" bill on Wednesday. According to local media Regnum, Russia's legislature agreed to give crypto assets legal status, and the new bill is expected to take effect on January 1, 2021.
The bill provides a legal definition for digital assets and legalizes digital asset transactions in Russia, but the use of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin for payment is still prohibited.
The bill also does not include compensation and criminal penalties. The proposed new legislation does not intend to introduce criminal liability, such as fines or imprisonment for illegal use of cryptocurrencies, according to a draft document released on Tuesday.
Anatoly Aksakov, a State Duma member and the main driving force behind the bill, told local news agency RIA Novosti that the committee decided to abandon its intention to introduce administrative and criminal liability in the bill.
According to previous media reports, the bill was read for the first time at the Duma session two years ago, but it has been stalled due to a standoff between cryptocurrency-supporting companies and the central bank, which is skeptical of cryptocurrencies.
However, Aksakov later proposed a compromise plan, giving priority to the introduction of bills related to "digital financial assets" (which may involve tokenized assets, blockchain infrastructure and stablecoins), and temporarily shelving some issues and disputes related to "digital currencies", which may involve cryptocurrencies or crypto assets in a general sense.
The report said that the bill related to "digital currency" still has a long way to go, and the deadlock among the relevant parties is still hindering progress. The government agency's position on this is "straightforward", so it still "needs to continue discussion."
However, Aksakov said he expects to reach a consensus on all disputes related to cryptocurrency in "July and August" and will submit a draft for "public discussion" by September.