The lower house of the Russian parliament has adopted a law prohibiting the use of digital financial assets for payments. To enforce this restriction, exchange operators were required to reject transactions in which these assets could be used as a means of payment.
Russian Parliament Approves Bill to Prevent Payment of Digital Financial Assets
A majority of the State Duma, the lower house of the Russian Federation Parliament, supported the adoption of abillprohibiting payment for goods and services using digital financial assets (DFA) in the Russian Federation.
Under current Russian law, DFA is the only legal term that can be applied to cryptocurrencies until lawmakers consider and adopt “On Digital Currency,” a dedicated draft law designed to regulate the crypto space more comprehensively. This ban also affects practical digital rights, or tokens.
The measure would be implemented by requiring exchanges and other platform operators to refuse to process DFA transactions that facilitate payments for digital assets. Token issuers and investment platform operators will also be required to ensure that their customers cannot alter DFA records when they conduct transactions with DFA, Forklog reported, citing documents.
However, the report notes that this restriction may not apply to certain payments made with utility tokens that are regulated by other federal laws, or when certain transactions are contemplated in the original contract for the acquisition of the respective digital rights.
The new law classifies operators of DFA platforms as subject to the Russian national payment system. This means that they must be added to a special registry maintained by the Central Bank of Russia (CBR
Opinions on the treatment of cryptocurrencies vary among Moscow institutions, but there is general consensus that the ruble and its digitized incarnation should remain the sole legal tender of the Russian Federation. However, the Bank of Russia has recently indicated that it may support the legalization of crypto payments for international payments.
Authorities hope that a newly adopted law submitted to the Duma in mid-June will eliminate the risk of using the DFA as a “money agent.” Another bill, still under consideration, aims to introduce administrative liability for the illegal issuance or exchange of digital financial assets.
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