Putin Signs Russian Crypto Bill Into Law

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed the first of two bills on digital assets into law on Friday.

• The bill, approved by the country's parliament last week, says companies can issue digital securities on a blockchain if the are properly registered with the Bank of Russia as issuers and satisfy certain criteria.
• Decentralized cryptocurrencies are considered a type of property, which should be reported for tax purposes and cannot be used to pay for good and services.
• A more detailed law regulating crypto-related businesses is expected to be passed later this year, though no timeline has been disclosed.
• The previous version of that bill, which has been introduced to the Russian parliament, would make it illegal to issue and trade crypto on Russia-based infrastructure.
• The draft generally reflected the skeptical stance of the country's central bank.
• It provoked an outcry from the crypto community and criticism from both Russia's Ministry of Justice and Ministry of Economic Development.

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