Draft of ‘Cryptoruble’ Bill Submitted To Russian Parliament

January 26, 2018 12:13 AM

A draft of a bill that would pave the way for the introduction of a state-issued cryptocurrency, the cryptoruble, as a valid means of payment in Russia, has been submitted to the State Duma, the country’s lower house of Parliament.

The legislation, submitted on January 25 by the State Duma Deputy from the Communist Party, Rizvan Kurbanov, says that the cryptoruble will be:

“A digital financial asset (cryptocurrency) – an analog of the ruble, which has circulation in the territory of the Russian Federation, which is protected by cryptographic methods and used by participants in a distributed registry of digital transactions. This digital financial asset is a legal means of payment, [and will be] widely used and accepted as a means of payment in [the] Russian Federation. Payments in the territory of the Russian Federation are [to be] made by cash and non-cash payments.”

That same day, Kurbanov proposed another law that would regulate the mining of the cryptoruble.

Also on January 25, the Ministry of Finance published a draft of a law regarding the legal status of non-state-issued cryptocurrencies that the agency has been preparing for several months. According to the language in an accompanying document, these digital assets will most likely not be designated as legitimate means of payment in Russia. The bill also puts forth requirements on how token offerings, or ICOs, must be conducted.

Quotes translated from Russian using Google Translate.

Adam Reese is a Los Angeles-based writer interested in technology, domestic and international politics, social issues, infrastructure and the arts. Adam is a full-time staff writer for ETHNews and holds value in Ether and BTC.

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