The Central Bank of Russia is Preparing for Digital Asset Taxation for Crypto

The Central Bank of Russia is Preparing for Digital Asset Taxation for Crypto. The Central Bank of Russia supports the development of digital assets but remains opposed to the regulation of crypto payments, its top management reiterated. The finance minister is currently working on a draft law that will be tabled in parliament at the end of the year. The Central Bank of Russia takes a legislative approach to the regulation of digital assets.

The Central Bank of Russia Federation (CBR)

The Central Bank of the Russian Federation (CBR) plans to submit a legislative package on the regulation of digital financial assets (DFA) to the State Duma, the national parliament. Under current Russian law, the term DFA refers to coins and tokens owned by issuing companies, as opposed to cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin. Speaking at Finopolis, a forum dedicated to financial innovations, the bank’s vice president, Olga Skorobogatova, explained that the policy has three main objectives: improving taxation and eliminating tax arbitrage, developing platforms for exchange and improving smart contracts .

The head of CBR expressed strong interest in the development of DFA in Russia. “We think this is a great new tool for financial market participants,” he said, according to crypto magazine Forklog.

Skorobogatova revealed that the Financial Authority is currently reviewing nine applications from companies seeking permission to issue and distribute digital assets. Three “information system operators” – Sberbank, Atomyze and Lighthouse – have already given permission to do this, he said.

Bank of Russia strongly opposes the country’s cryptocurrency laws

Meanwhile, speaking in the Duma, CBR Governor Elvira Nabiullina said that although the Bank of Russia supports the development of digital assets, it is against the use of private cryptocurrencies in the country. According to the media agency Tass, he emphasized that digital assets are not limited to crypto only and showed:

We have not changed our position on private cryptocurrencies, which do not specify who and how to do it, which are not safe and carry a high volatility risk, and should not be used in regulation. Discussions about the status of cryptocurrencies and the regulation of the crypto market in Russia have been going on for more than a year. The CBR has traditionally remained loyal, proposing a ban on insurance and related activities such as mining and trading in January. However, sanctions related to the war in Ukraine, including sanctions affecting international debt, have softened it. In September, the financial authority agreed with the Ministry of Finance that under the current conditions it would be impossible in Russia to do without cross-border cryptocurrency settlement.