On February 27, 2019, Vladimir Putin set a new deadline for the Russian government to adopt regulations on digital assets, in the new document published on Kremlin.ru, the official website of the President of Russia.

According to the document, V. Putin requires the government and the lower house the Federal Assembly of Russia (Russian State Duma) to pass a legislative proposal on digital assets by July 1, 2019. This issue must be considered during the spring session of 2019.

The new document requires the adoption of federal laws which aim to develop the digital economy. Particularly, the legislation should include a regulatory framework for digital financial assets and define regulation of civil-law digital settlements. One of the reported goals of the new regulatory framework is attracting more financial resources using digital technologies.

The recent instructions by the President of Russia echoes his previous decree in 2018, when he required the government to prepare regulations for the trade of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, as well as for initial coin offerings and crypto mining by July 2018.

The Russian parliament passed legislation on digital assets in its first reading in May 2018. However, in autumn, all crypto- and token-related terms had been replaced with the term “digital rights,” and the definition of crypto mining had also been removed from the bill. Finally, the bill on crypto regulation was sent back to the first reading stage in December 2018.

Recently, financial news outlet Rambler informed that the Russian State Duma had plans to review and pass new cryptocurrency regulations this March.

Author: Helen Darkhouse