The Russian government plans to launch a national crypto exchange

Key points:

• Russia is working on reforms to launch a national cryptocurrency exchange.
• Reforms, which will establish the legal framework for the national stock exchange, will first be presented to the central bank.
• The Duma received a bill that would legalize the mining of cryptocurrencies and the sale of the mined cryptocurrencies. 

Russian lawmakers are working on reforms to launch a national cryptocurrency exchange. The efforts are reportedly backed by the finance ministry and Russia’s central bank, which have long been at odds over cryptocurrency regulation in the country.

As local media reported on Nov. 23, members of the Duma, the lower house of Russia’s parliament, have been discussing with market participants changes to the country’s existing cryptocurrency legislation “On Digital Financial Assets.” The changes, which will establish the legal framework for the national stock exchange, will first be presented to the central bank.

Sergey Altuhov, a member of the Duma Committee on Economic Policy, emphasized the tax sensitivity of such measures:

“It makes no sense to deny the existence of cryptocurrencies, the problem is they circulate in a large stream outside of state regulation. These are billions of tax rubles of lost tax revenues to the federal budget.“

In June, Anatoly Aksakov, chairman of the Duma Committee on Financial Markets, suggested that a national cryptocurrency exchange could be established in Russia as part of the Moscow Stock Exchange, “a long-established respected organization". In September, Moscow Exchange drafted a bill on behalf of the central bank to allow digital financial asset trading.

Related: Cuba and Russia consider crypto currencies for settlements in the face of sanctions. 

Earlier this month, the Duma received a bill that would legalize the mining of cryptocurrencies and the sale of the mined cryptocurrencies. The bill would create a Russian platform for selling cryptocurrencies, but local miners would also be able to use foreign platforms. In the latter case, Russian currency controls and regulations do not apply to the transaction but must be reported to the Russian tax authorities.