Russia Says Buying Bitcoin is Legal in the Country

The deputy finance minister of Russia, Alexei Moiseev, made an important statement for the future of bitcoin and cryptocurrencies. He stated that buying cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin, in the country will be perfectly legal. This means that Russian authorities have decided that there will be no ban on buying or selling cryptocurrencies.

Local media reported that the Russian government has no plans to punish those interested in making cryptocurrency transactions or investments. However, we cannot say the same thing about mining. In fact, it has been claimed that the Russian government might even think about imposing a ban on mining.

Russian authorities are thinking about regulating cryptocurrency mining

Moiseev stated that stricter regulation is needed when it comes to cryptocurrencies mining. This could also include a mandatory registration of cryptocurrency miners. Moiseev said that miners could be limited to legal entities and individual entrepreneurs. For people who are not approved in such a way to mine cryptocurrencies, the practice could be criminalized.

Moiseev also talked about the penalties that could be suffered by those who do not comply with the regulations:

“The penalties will be different, mostly administrative, but if someone created the cryptocurrency for the purpose of settlements, then there will be a criminal punishment.”

Other cases in which cryptocurrency mining could be criminalized are when it is used for the purpose of creating a financial pyramid or avoiding taxes. Cryptocurrencies have commonly been linked to tax avoidance and money laundering.

For the moment, Russia's President Vladimir Putin has showed his stance on cryptocurrencies, pushing for the development of regulations of initial coin offerings and cryptocurrency mining in the country. The push is to regulate both cryptocurrency mining and supply.

Following a meeting between Putin and Russia's finance minister held back in October, the finance minister announced that the two agreed that the state should take a lead and control the process of regulating cryptocurrency emission and circulation. The state is also thinking about imposing some limits on cryptocurrency purchases.