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The Russian prime minister outlined the government’s plans to change existing laws to recognize cryptocurrency as property. This means that bitcoin owners will have the legal rights to defend and recover their cryptocurrencies in court.
Russia recognizes Bitcoin as a property
During Thursday’s government meeting, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin talked about Russia’s plans to regulate cryptocurrency alongside other initiatives to combat the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.
After outlining several solutions that the Russian government has come up with, Mishustin said: “Another solution concerns cryptocurrencies.” He added that “This is a relatively new tool, the interest in which is constantly growing.”
The Russian prime minister continued: “The government plans to direct the development of this market in a civilian direction so that the owners of such assets can protect their rights and interests, and the creation of shadow schemes would be difficult.” To this end, Mishustin said: “We make a series of changes to the tax code”, elaborating:
Digital financial assets will be recognized as property and their owners will be able to count on legal protection in case of illegal actions, as well as defend their property rights in court.
Although there have been discussions among lawmakers to treat bitcoin as a taxable property, it is not yet official. Several courts have therefore decided independently whether to recognize cryptocurrency as property. In July, a Russian court denied a cryptocurrency owner the return of his cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin. The court found that since bitcoin was not considered property under Russian law, its theft was not a crime. In December last year, the supreme court ruled that the tokens were assets like money and property.
Russia will start regulating cryptocurrency next year; President Vladimir Putin signed the cryptocurrency law in August. However, Russian lawmakers are still trying to add to the bill.
In November, the Ministry of Finance developed new amendments to the cryptocurrency regulation, introducing new rules and penalties for undeclared and undervalued cryptocurrencies. Meanwhile, the Bank of Russia is seeking public comment on the central bank’s digital currency (CBDC), the digital ruble.
What do you think of Russia recognizing bitcoin as property? Let us know in the comments section below.
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