Russia: Only Industrial Players May Be Allowed to Mine Bitcoin & Crypto

The chief architect of Russia’s crypto legislation has suggested that only industrial miners could be allowed to continue operating after the country unveils its long-awaited legislation for the Bitcoin (BTC) & crypto sector in this aggressor state.

Anatoly Aksakov, a senior MP and the State Duma’s Chairman of the Committee on Financial Markets, told Izvestia that miners might be forced to operate in certain parts of the country, and forbidden from mining in others – in order to avoid placing a strain on busy energy grids.

“Mining should be allowed only in energy-abundant regions. Only legal entities should be involved in mining. It should be a regulated business,” he was quoted as saying.

The MP also gave his thoughts on the taxation of mining revenues, explaining:

“I believe that in the case of mining, taxation rates should be set at a rate that is close to what is established in the market for goods and services. VAT and income tax should be introduced.”

The MP added that the Central Bank still supports “a complete ban on operations with cryptocurrencies in Russia” (its long-term position), meaning that a lot of “improvements are expected” before the bill is presented in parliament.

Aksakov has previously claimed that the bill will pass the Duma before the end of the first half of this year and in time for the end of the Duma’s spring session. And, in his most recent interview, he claimed that the bill – which is still being discussed at the governmental level – will be ready for MPs to vote on next month.

However, even imposing such restrictions on the mining sector might not be enough to appease the Central Bank, which just days ago equated crypto with “pyramid schemes.”

Aksakov also added that mining measures could be left out of a separate draft law on the “legalization of cryptoassets,” which has been drawn up by the Ministry of Finance.

The ministry wants to establish a system of legal rights for crypto holders, as well as legal limits on the amount of fiat Russians can spend on crypto investments in the space of a year. It hopes to raise money by taxing crypto traders’ profits and has previously spoken about taxing miners’ earnings, too.