Russia: 7 years in prison and a fine for mining cryptocurrencies

The Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation continues to limit the possibilities of cryptocurrencies in the country, having come up with a new initiative,which shocked the Russian crypto business.

A new amendment to the law “On Digital Financial Assets (DFA)”, prepared by the department, prohibits miners from receiving cryptocurrency as a reward for their work.

Additions to the law proposed by the ministryprohibit any operations with cryptoassets in the country. A Russian citizen will be able to receive digital currency only upon inheritance, bankruptcy or as a result of enforcement proceedings. Russian miners are prohibited from rewarding mined blocks, otherwise they face a fine of up to 100 thousand rubles. or up to seven years of restriction of freedom. At the same time, mining itself is allowed.

Experts are already predicting the death of the Russiancrypto business, if such amendments are adopted. After all, this article of the law can be interpreted as a ban on the production of cryptoassets themselves and on making a profit from crypto trading.

To work legally, miners will have toinstantly convert cryptocurrency into fiat money and charge yourself a reward in it. In such a situation, the mining industry will go underground, leasing equipment to foreign companies and conducting all operations abroad, or simply change its jurisdiction to a friendlier one. Nearby, Ukraine and Kazakhstan claim the title of the largest bitcoin miners.

On the other hand, the government is not interestedin the loss of taxes and jobs from mining. Representatives of the Russian crypto business hope that this initiative of the department will be finalized taking into account the interests of all market participants and it is too early to talk about its adoption in this form.

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