Russian lawmakers have passed a law that prohibits the use of financial assets digitally in payments. The restriction was implemented by the requirement that exchange operators reject any transactions that make it possible for these assets to be used as payment methods.
Russian Parliament passes legislation that prevents digital asset payments
The majority in the State Duma, the lower house of Russia’s Federal Assembly, has supported the adoption of a bill banning payments for goods and services using digital financial assets (DFAs) within the Russian Federation.
Under current Russian legislation, DFAs is the only legal term that can apply to cryptocurrencies, until lawmakers review and adopt the dedicated draft law “On Digital Currency,” designed to more comprehensively regulate the crypto space. This ban affects tokens and utilitarian digital rights.
Platform operators (exchanges) will have to agree not to accept DFA transactions for digital asset payments. Forklog reports that token issuers as well as investment platform operators must make it difficult for clients to alter DFA records when they are making transactions.
According to the report, restrictions could not apply for certain utility token payments that are covered by federal law or transactions which were envisaged in an original agreement regarding the acquisition of the digital rights.
The new legislation also classifies DFA platform operators as subjects of Russia’s national payment system. This means that they will need to be included in a special registry maintained by the Central Bank of Russia.
Though opinions differ among Moscow-based institutions about how to handle cryptocurrencies are varied, there’s a consensus that the ruble (and its digital form) should be the only legal tender for the Russian Federation. The Bank of Russia recently indicated that it might support the legalization of cryptocurrency payments in international settlements.
Officials hope that the newly adopted law, which was submitted to the Duma in mid-June, will eliminate the risks of using DFAs as “money surrogates.” Another piece of legislation, that’s still under review, aims to introduce administrative liability for the illegal issuance and exchange of digital financial assets.
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