- Bitcoin holding is allowed in Russia but mining is an offense.
- Bitcoin can only be bought at foreign points of sales and under foreign law.
A representative of the state Duma (parliament) is reported to have issued some clarity on cryptocurrencies. The Anatoly Aksakov, Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Financial Markets was speaking in an interview at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum where he read out the fines for cryptocurrency miners.
“”¦actions with cryptocurrency, unconditional due to Russian legislation, will be considered illegitimate. This means that mining, organizing production, circulation, creating exchange points for these tools will be prohibited.”
Fines will be imposed for such actions. The proposal only applies only to blockchains that are open, for example, Bitcoin and Ethereum and excludes any state-backed Crypto-Ruble. The Russian government has been considering this ban for several years.
Aksakov confirmed that Russians can hold still hold Bitcoin. However, the Bitcoin will have to be under foreign law and at foreign points of sale and exchange. All points of sales in Russia would be illegal while mining is forbidden.