Putin backs legalisation and taxation of mining in Russia, instead of a ban

Russian President Vladimir Putin backs the government’s proposal to tax and regulate cryptocurrency mining rather than ban it. Bloomberg writes, citing sources familiar with the situation.

According to them, Putin supports the idea of legalising cryptocurrency mining in regions with excess electricity, such as Irkutsk Oblast, Krasnoyarsk Krai and Karelia.

Co-founder of BitCluster Vitaly Borchenko said that representatives of the mining industry were invited to join the working government group after the publication of the Bank of Russia’s report proposing to ban cryptocurrency mining in Russia.

The government does not back the Bank of Russia’s position regarding a total ban on the circulation of crypto assets and mining. The Ministry of Finance has advocated regulation of the industry and prepared its own concept on this issue. It has already been backed by Rosfinmonitoring and Российский фонд прямых инвестиций.

Putin urged the government and the Bank of Russia to come to a unified view on cryptocurrency regulation. He also said that Russia has competitive advantages in mining — a surplus of electricity and well-trained personnel.

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