President Vladimir Putin’s government is swiftly moving to regulate the crypto sector amid Bitcoin’s historic boom. In a recent development, the Federation Council, Russia’s Upper House of Parliament, approved a bill outlining the taxation framework for crypto assets. Putin has long sought to reduce Russia’s reliance on the US dollar for international transactions, and tools like CBDCs and cryptocurrencies are seen as key to achieving this goal.
Under this bill, Russia has classified virtual digital currencies as property and introduced a tax of 13 to 15 percent on crypto sales generating personal income, a CoinTelegraph report citing information from the official document noted.
To position Russia as a crypto mining hub, the government has exempted crypto miners from value-added tax (VAT) on mined cryptocurrencies. Miners are required to comply with government regulations and report necessary information to local authorities. Violations of these guidelines may result in a fine of RUB 40,000 (roughly Rs. 30,754).
The bill has passed three readings in the Russian legislature and is awaiting President Putin’s signature to become law. The timeline for its finalisation remains unclear.
This move follows the election of Donald Trump as the 47th President of the United States, after which Bitcoin surged to a historic all-time high, nearing $100,000 (about Rs. 84.4 lakh).
President Putin appears to believe that virtual digital assets (VDAs) like Bitcoin can aid Russia’s economic recovery from the sanctions imposed by various nations following the country’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Since the start of this year, Russia has taken several steps to regulate the virtual digital assets sector.
Back in March, Russia joined Brazil, China, and South Africa – the BRICS group – in planning a digital payment network, backed by digital currencies. Recently, President Putin expressed support for this initiative, highlighting that digital currencies could benefit not only the BRICS countries but also other developing economies.
In July this year, President Putin signed the Digital Ruble Bill to help Russian citizens process payments via the Digital Ruble CBDC.
