In the absence of a comprehensive regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies in Russia, lawyers have taken matters into their own hands. A new advisory body of legal experts will look into cases where the current legislation does not reflect the specifics of the growing digital economy and propose solutions.
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Legal Commission to Solve Problems Stemming From the Lack of Proper Rules
During a round table discussion on these issues, the Russian Lawyers Association and an educational organization called Blockchain Lawyers have agreed to establish a specialized commission that will address the legal challenges in the crypto industry. It will also work with companies in other related sectors such as blockchain development, artificial intelligence, quantum technologies and the internet of things.
The commission’s main task will be to provide answers to outstanding questions and solve problems arising from the lack of proper crypto regulations, the Russian outlet Bitcrypto News reported. The participants in the round table expressed confidence that the new body will be able to give legal definitions to many new economic and technological phenomena in the digital space.
The members of the commission will help projects and organizations in the industry to overcome specific challenges. Some of them are related to accounting and taxation, for example. The Russian government currently treats cryptocurrencies as “other property.” In the case of ICO tokens, however, the digital coins can also represent property rights. The problem is that the Russian tax code applies different rates to these two categories.
According to Mikhail Uspenskiy, partner at the law firm Taxology, keeping accounting records competently will be extremely difficult until Russian lawmakers finally adopt new laws to clearly define the legal nature of cryptocurrencies and tokens. However, the lower house of Russia’s parliament, the State Duma, has postponed the adoption of the legislation that was filed this past spring.
Russian Authorities Favor Conservative Approach to Crypto Regulation
After introducing a number of changes to the original texts, Russian deputies eventually dropped several key terms such as “cryptocurrency” and “mining” from the main bill, the law “On Digital Financial Assets.” Representatives of the crypto industry protested against its latest version and even proposed their own, alternative bill that grants cryptocurrencies a “special status.”
In a recent statement, Russia’s deputy prime minister Maxim Akimov defended the conservative regulatory approach. Commenting on the recent market slump that decreased the capitalization of most decentralized cryptocurrencies, he also said that authorities in Moscow do not plan to introduce any more significant amendments to the draft legal framework.
During the round table, the legal experts discussed a number of other related topics such as the need to regulate law enforcement in the crypto industry and provide protection for the rights of cryptocurrency holders. The new commission is expected to deal with these issues as well. The body will operate within the Moscow regional branch of the Russian Lawyers Association.
What do you think of the idea to create a legal commission to support the growing Russian crypto industry? Share your thoughts on the subject in the comments section below.
Images courtesy of Shutterstock, Diar.
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