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Deputy Aksakov suggested that digital currencies in the country will be strictly regulated, and one centralized platform will be created to interact with them. Lawyers commented on this statement
Now the third version of the bill on the regulation of the crypto market is already under consideration and it is being hardly discussed, said Anatoly Aksakov, head of the State Duma Committee on the Financial Market, on May 30. He stressed that he does not believe in the imminent appearance of the document in the State Duma.
According to the deputy, the decline in the price of bitcoin also does not add optimism. In mid-May, the value of the first cryptocurrency fell to a local low of $ 26.7 thousand, while in November last year it set a historical maximum of $ 69 thousand As of May 31, the asset is traded at $ 31.5 thousand, it fell by 54% from peak values.
Aksakov believes that the decline in the market was influenced by the US State Department, which suspects that bitcoin is used to circumvent sanctions.
“There are suspicions that american special services largely control this market, so there is no desire to fall under their invisible or visible eye when carrying out financial transactions,” the deputy emphasized.
He claims that the bill on cryptocurrency will be adopted in the version of strict regulation. At the same time, the country will create a single centralized platform for the exchange, calculation and maintenance of digital currencies.
Lawyers commented on Aksakov’s statements and told how realistic it is to create such a platform, what risks it carries and when regulation can be introduced.
About the centralized site
The existing version of the bill provides for digital currency exchange operators, that is, platforms where Russian residents can legally buy and sell cryptocurrency, explained Dmitry Kirillov, a teacher at Moscow Digital School. Now formally it is any person who will meet the requirements of the law in terms of the amount of own funds, the composition of the founders and the qualifications of management bodies, and will receive a license from the authorized body.
“Thus, there may be several legal exchange platforms. At the same time, the state may want to create a single “window to the crypto world” and in the final version of the bill we will receive either a statement that such a “window” will be a specially created organization with state participation, or such excessive requirements that market participants will not be able to meet them in principle, “the expert suggested.
In the case of creating a single centralized platform for the exchange of digital currencies, it will be easier for the Bank of Russia to regulate this area, added Efim Kazantsev, a member of the Commission on Legal Support of the Digital Economy of the Moscow Branch of the Association of Lawyers of Russia. He warned that such monopolization does not bode well for the market.
“It remains to be hoped that by limiting the possibility of creating private Russian exchangers, we will not be banned from using international crypto exchanges and P2P exchangers,” Kazantsev said.
About the risks
A potential scenario for the development of events with the creation of a single, fully centralized platform for the purchase and sale of digital currencies, although not publicly discussed, was discussed in narrow professional circles, said Mikhail Bystrov, partner, head of the FinTech & Crypto practice at the DRC law firm. He named the main reasons why such a scenario is extremely negative:
- The state has absolutely no experience in creating such sites and managing them. It seems that in the best case, Russia will be able to purchase some kind of platform on the white label model and develop additions for it;
- Centralization in the crypto industry never leads to good – it is enough to recall the well-known hacks of centralized crypto-exchanges with massive theft of funds;
- There is also a risk of leaks of user data, since “our” approach to the security of such data, given their regular leaks, is notorious.
Bystrov believes that crypto enthusiasts in Russia will be asked to unconditionally disclose their operations and all their data to the state.
“In such a scenario, I am afraid that even those cryptos who were not going to do this even in the conditions of the current economic crisis will leave the country, and those who do not do this will work “in black” and conduct a cryptocurrency exchange for interested parties only on the recommendations of trusted persons,” the expert predicted.
About deadlines
It is difficult to talk about the timing of the adoption of the law, Kirillov warned. According to him, with one On the other hand, there is a market request to withdraw the cryptosphere from the “gray zone”, on the other hand, there is a lack of consent among state bodies and uncertainty caused by external factors, including sanctions.
Kazantsev added that now the process of working on the bill is delayed and is more reminiscent of how the law on digital financial assets was developed at one time. The probability of adopting a law on digital currency this year is decreasing, now the next one looks more likely – 2023, the lawyer believes.
“The coming regulation will bring mostly new prohibitions and restrictions, not new freedoms and opportunities. The only positive point in this will be that the outline of these restrictions and prohibitions will become clear and the risk of a complete ban on cryptocurrency in the Russian Federation will disappear, “the expert concluded.
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