Chamber of Commerce and Industry proposes classifying mining as entrepreneurial activity

The head of the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RCCI) Sergey Katyrin proposed to treat cryptocurrency mining as entrepreneurial activity. He sent the corresponding letter to Finance Minister Anton Siluanov, according to ТАСС.

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Katyrin is convinced that this would remove mining from the grey zone, ensure tax payments to the budget, and ease tensions over illicit use of electricity.

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The head of the RCCI also stressed the need to determine the legal status of crypto assets. In his words, the Russian ruble, as the national currency, cannot be called into question. However, he said it would be reasonable to study the experience of countries where “cryptocurrency is a digital representation of value and is not a means of payment, and the exchange of cryptocurrency for goods is treated as a barter transaction”.

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Katyrin believes that in regulating the industry one must not only seek new approaches but also rely on those already operating in the financial market. Among them he cited licensing market participants or granting investors a special status analogous to the division between qualified and non-qualified investors.

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Earlier, advocated by Anatoly Aksakov, head of the State Duma Committee on the Financial Market, and the governor of Irkutsk Oblast, Igor Kobzev for the idea to classify mining as entrepreneurship. was supported by representatives of several ministries.

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The Central Bank called for banning mining on Russian territory. The regulator contends that mining digital currencies poses significant risks to Russia’s economy and its citizens.

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In the Ministry of Finance, authorities say that the crypto industry needs to be regulated, not banned.

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