All about Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies in Russia

Short guide to everything you need to know about regulation, legality, adoption, trading, and more Bitcoin and the main cryptocurrencies in Russia.

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Russia, the largest nation in the world, has a long tradition of quality in all areas of art and science. The cradle of literary giants like Leon Tolstoi and Fjodor Dostojewski also lists important developments in this area Blockchain and cryptographic.

In recent years, the Russian authorities have had a generally positive attitude towards technologies such as Blockchain. However, they have repeatedly objected to the use of crypto assets, and regulators do not appear to agree on this. There has been great uncertainty for years about the legality and regulation of assets such as Bitcoin.

In this new issue of “All about Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies“We present some legal, economic, technological, and social considerations to clarify the use of digital currencies in the country. In addition, we will examine Russia’s developments, advances and developments in the areas of crypto and crypto Blockchain.

Legal situation

There are currently no specific laws or regulations in Russia that deal with digital currencies. Despite the fact that the Russian Civil Code was recently changed to include the term “digital rights“Cryptocurrencies do not have a legal framework that specifies specific rules for their use and trading.

Rather, there are laws that could be considered inadmissible for the use of digital assets. For example, according to the law of the Russian Central Bank, the ruble (the country’s national currency) is the only legal tender that can be used as a form of payment. And the constitution also considers it illegal to issue another currency. Both the Central Bank and the Ministry of Finance are the two key authorities on financial regulation and in this matter.

In a move that could be considered contradictory, the Bank of Russia examined the possibility of issuing a national digital currency. In 2018, the bank announced the review of a proposal for a gold-based cryptocurrency. More recently, the body has started to explore the potential of Stable coins deposited with coins Fiat and consider issuing a digital ruble or CBDC.

In view of the legislative needs in crypto-related matters, the Russian government has expressed interest in a building regulation on several occasions. The country’s first efforts were made before 2017, before the global boom in Bitcoin. The State Duma has been reviewing a bill in recent years, the terms of which include “Token“,”Cryptocurrencies“And”digital financial asset“”

However, the authorities have also expressed the view that the use of digital assets is linked to illegal activities. In March 2020, the central bank determined that the new version of the Financial Assets Act would ban the issuance and circulation of cryptocurrencies. According to the agency, trading in these assets poses great risks, including financial de-stabilization.

taxation

Due to the lack of regulation and the current “Gray areaWith regard to the legality of cryptocurrency trading, activities with cryptocurrencies remain almost unnoticed by the Russian tax authorities. However, this may change soon.

Earlier this year, the new Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said that all cryptocurrency operations should be taxed.

Cryptocurrency mining

No Russian law or law currently seems to regulate crypto mining activities. However, according to information from the portal Global legal insightsThere are some laws that could apply to this activity.

In this case, the use and distribution of mining machinery may be subject to import restrictions. as well as the license application to the Federal Security Service or the Ministry of Industry and Trade. However, there is great interest in cryptocurrency mining among Russians. It could also be due to the lack of legal clarity in this activity,

The fact that Russia is an energy superpower is also an advantage for those who are interested in activities. Bitriver, the largest crypto mining center in Russia, has been working with a hydropower source in the facilities of a former post-Soviet aluminum plant since 2018. The low temperatures of the Siberian climate of the city of Bratsk, in which it lies, also favor it.

This year, a state-owned nuclear power plant near Moscow announced the installation of a new crypto mining center. The facility is reportedly planning to produce 240 megawatts, which would make it an important mining company worldwide.

Another recent report also suggests that the nation could become the world’s leading player in cloud mining. This year TokenInsight showed that Russian visitors from cloud mining sites almost doubled Chinese visitors.

In recent years, unauthorized crypto mining programs have also flourished in Russia. Authorities have found on several occasions that computers are used in government institutions to illegally mine digital assets.

Stock exchanges in Russia

Russia is a growing and promising market for digital assets. As a sign of this, various alternatives can be counted for those interested in trading Bitcoin and other digital currencies from Russian territory.

One of the most popular exchanges in Russia is Matbeathat enables the buying and selling of Bitcoin, Litecoin, Dash y Zcash through various payment methods, including the support of the largest bank in Russia and Eastern Europe, Sberbank.

Other change is popular cryptocurrency BestChange.ru, a platform that offers multiple options for trading digital currencies in multiple payment methods. This platform is characterized by listing the best updated offers from dozens of online exchanges. Buy Bitcoin, C1K.world, 1-online.ruThese are some of the exchanges listed for the best deals on buying or selling cryptocurrencies for Russian rubles.

As in other countries around the world, residents of Russia interested in trading digital assets have P2P platforms on hand. LocalBitcoins y PaxfulSome of these were expanded to the Russian market in 2019. The platform is also counted Binance P2Pwho recently added ruble support for crypto trading.

Under the options to buy or sell Bitcoin and other currencies local ATMs are also counted. Russia has a total of 50 teams spread across the country CoinATMRadar, 6 of them in the city of Rostov-on-Don.

Statistics from BestChangeThey also reveal revealing data on local cryptocurrency trading. After this change, a large percentage of users buy Bitcoin with Qiwi, a Russian payment service that allows a wallet from a phone number.

Popular cryptocurrencies

Similar to other countries in the world, the group of the most used digital currencies in Russia coincides with the assets that have greater commercial popularity in the market. Besides that, Bitcoin (BTC) is the most popular cryptocurrency in the Eurasian country.

According to data from BestChange based on exchange operating in the country according to BTC, rope (USDT) and Ethereum (ETH) tops the list of the most popular in the country after its marketing. According to the of the exchange and data from BestChange, other assets that are also frequently traded Litecoin (LTC), Zcash (ZEC), Monero (XMR), Dogecoin (DOGE) and others.

A strange fact is that the Russian community also has its own version of Steemit, the social network based on Blockchaincall Golos.io. Like this one, Golos It also works with a native cryptocurrency called AIMSwhat can be translated as “voiceAnd allows users to get rewards for their content.

Commercial adoption

According to data from Coinmap.org, Russia has not accumulated a large number of traders that accept cryptocurrencies as a form of payment. In particular, taking into account the enormous territorial expansion, this phenomenon could respond to the lack of legal clarity in the use of these assets.

The city of Moscow, with a population of 12 million, gathers more than 200 businesses that have introduced digital currencies as a means of payment. When inquiring on the map of CoinmapIt is known that the shops offering this alternative include cafes, restaurants, medical centers, travel agencies and sports halls. even services such as transportation, English classes, math and others.

It can also be seen that the commercial launch of cryptocurrencies in Russia focuses on the central-western area and the south of the country. In cities such as Yekaterinburg, Kirov and Tyumen, there are shops and / or services that accept payments in addition to Moscow Bitcoin and other currencies.

In the past, news media reported about it Valenok was the first Moscow restaurant to be adopted Bitcoin between your payment methods. It has also been reported that the chain of bars KillFish accepted cryptocurrency in their facilities.

Data from Coinmap They also show that a variety of local businesses use the Joys wallet and point of sale to collect digital assets.

adoption Blockchain

Despite the contradictions in the legal information about cryptocurrencies in Russia regarding the introduction of technology Blockchain, The local government has shown great interest in its benefits. Particularly with regard to the potential to strengthen the products and services offered by the public and private sectors at local level.

In this context, the city council of the Russian capital announced last year that it would be looking for a contractor to build a system Blockchain to house the city’s administrative services. The Russian central bank has also experimented with technology and highlighted its advantages while highlighting its limits.

In recent times, the Russian government has made various efforts to advance the research and development of blockchain technology. This year, however, the government announced plans to cut spending on development Blockchain of the country in at least 50%.

The energy company in the private sector Gazprom Neft and the Russian airline S7 airlines have announced the successful development and implementation of a system based on Blockchain for the management of refueling aviation fuel.

This year Waves Enterprise, the company of Blockchain At the hybrid company level, the country’s Ministry of Communications included it in the unified register of Russian software for computers and databases.

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Article by Hannah Estefanía Pérez / DailyBitcoin

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