The government has approved the concept of regulating the circulation of cryptocurrencies, which was developed by the Ministry of Finance. It implies the identification of customers and control over payment operators, but not the ban on digital currencies. By February 18, the Ministry, together with the Bank of Russia, will prepare a joint draft bill.

The concept also envisages the use of banking infrastructure for the purchase and sale of digital currencies and the use of Rosfinmonitoring’s “transparent blockchain” service.

Earlier, the experts of the Ministry of Finance sent a letter to the government, in which they described the Ministry’s proposals on the rules for regulating the cryptocurrencies market:

• establishing the parties, including the functionality and requirements for activities;
• determining the mechanism for purchasing and selling digital currency within the banking infrastructure;
• setting requirements for customers;
• using Rosfinmonitoring’s “transparent blockchain” service to track digital currency transactions;
• distributing powers between public authorities and determining the competent supervisory authority;
• introducing necessary amendments to legislation;
• identifying the benefits of regulation and the consequences of a ban.

Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko signed a roadmap to regulate operations with cryptocurrencies in January. It will be valid until the end of 2022.

Original (in Russian)