Lawyers criticized the bill of the Ministry of Finance on cryptocurrency

Experts identified the main changes proposed by the department and pointed out the shortcomings of the bill

The new version of the draft law of the Ministry of Finance "On Digital Currency", which describes the regulation of the crypto market, strengthens the prohibitions contained in the law "On Digital Financial Assets", Roman Yankovsky, a member of the Commission for Legal Support of the Digital Economy of the Moscow Branch of the Russian Bar Association, warned.

In the document that was at the disposal of RBC-Crypto (its authenticity was confirmed by the sources of the editorial board), pages 3 and 18 are missing. From the rest, it follows that the bill:

— a ban on paying for goods, works and services with cryptocurrency is confirmed;

— it is forbidden to exchange cryptocurrencies outside of licensed exchangers;

— it is forbidden to use non-certified crypto wallets. The procedure for certification of wallets is determined by the government;

- transactions that are not permitted by law are prohibited - for example, the exchange of cryptocurrency by individuals, transfers using cold wallets, etc.

Yankovsky noted that the digital currency described in the bill does not include stablecoins - only "classic" fiat cryptocurrencies. The document describes mining in “sufficient detail” and essentially brings this business out of the shadows, the expert claims.

The bill also provides for the introduction of new licenses for a digital currency exchange operator and a digital trading platform operator. These licenses will first of all try to get those companies that already have licenses for the operator of the exchange of digital financial assets and the operator of investment platforms in order to be able to trade all types of tokens and exchange them for cryptocurrency, the lawyer is sure.

Foreign exchanges can hypothetically register and obtain a license in RUSSIA, but it will not be easy - you need to open an account in a Russian bank for the money of Russians, keep records of trades according to Russian rules, etc. All data on transactions with crypto-currencies on licensed platforms will be transferred to the Federal Tax Service, and all taxes will need to be paid from them. How exactly to calculate and pay is still unclear. This will require a separate law, Yankovsky believes.

Sanctions for violation of the law have not yet been determined , the specialist noted. He explained that since 2014, restrictions and bans on cryptocurrency have been introduced in Russia, but sanctions for their violation have not yet been established. This defines the “gray zone” of cryptocurrency.

A new revised version of the bill on regulating the circulation of digital currencies arose under pressure from the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, Moscow Digital School expert Efim Kazantsev is sure.

“The Bank of Russia has used its favorite tactic – if they didn’t let it be completely banned, then it needs to be regulated so that it would be disgraceful for anyone to engage in cryptocurrency. They didn’t invent anything special, but simply applied the same scheme that was enshrined in the law on digital financial assets - any actions with cryptocurrency will be tightly controlled, ”Kazantsev emphasized. He called the current version of the bill "a step backwards."

The updated bill, in principle, is not friendly either to users or to businesses, says Mikhail Bystrov, partner, HEAD of the FinTech & Crypto practice at DRC law firm. He is sure that the Russian crypto business as a whole has again not received what it expected, so the bill only brings the outflow of crypto capital from Russia closer.

Bystrov drew attention to the provisions related to professional purchasers of digital currencies, the requirements for digital currency exchange operators and trading platform operators, as well as the mandatory certification of electronic wallets.

With regard to “professional acquirers”, they include individuals recognized as such by the operator of a trading platform or digital currency exchange, while the procedure for classifying users as such persons should be established by the Russian government. These requirements are still unclear, and operators will additionally be required to maintain a register of such persons, and the procedure for maintaining it will also be determined by the government.

“Here one can see both the possibility of corruption abuses on the part of operators, who can recognize persons as professional acquirers “for a bribe”, and on the part of the state, which will be able to pay too close attention to such professional acquirers “from the register”. Finally, according to Russian law, we have conscientious and unscrupulous buyers, and such a novel with “professional buyers” looks at least ridiculous,” Bystrov believes.

He added that the requirements for operators make entering the market for the vast majority of players at least pointless and overly expensive. Only "selected" companies will be able to comply with these requirements, this can be seen with the naked eye, the expert believes. According to him, here again there is a corruption component, due to which regulators will be able to “turn a blind eye” to non-compliance with these requirements.

The expert also drew attention to the certification of digital currency electronic wallets. Although the certification procedure will be determined by the government, such wallets - including "cold" ones - will most likely be recognized as "cryptographic information protection tools", and the FSB and FSTEC are licensing and certifying such CIPF in Russia. Therefore, those colleagues who note that it is unlikely that anyone will go for such certification are absolutely right, Bystrov emphasized.

Dmitry Machikhin, CEO of the Bitnalog service, spoke in support of the bill. He called the bill a logical reflection of the processes that are taking place in the field of cryptocurrency regulation.

“The new version of the bill suggested itself, the first one was too “raw”. However, even here, many changes are more of a “cosmetic” nature, ”Machikhin believes.

The expert saw progress and development in the document. However, he emphasized that this is not yet what should be in the final version. Machikhin suggested that the bill would change over time and become even more precise in wording.

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