The head of the tax authority calls for the establishment of cryptocurrency trading infrastructure in Russia.
Financial regulators are considering launching Russian cryptocurrency exchanges.
The head of the tax authority in the sanctioned state pointed out that Russia needs to legalize local cryptocurrency exchanges.
The tax official pointed out that the cryptocurrency mining sector, which has recently undergone regulation in Russia, is currently selling most of the coins it mints abroad, hindering its development. His call to allow the sale of cryptocurrencies comes amid ongoing discussions in Moscow about launching Russian trading platforms for digital assets.
The head of the tax authority calls for the establishment of cryptocurrency trading infrastructure in Russia.
The head of the Russian Federal Tax Service, Daniel Igorov, stated in an interview shared by Russian media specialized in business and cryptocurrencies that Russia must build its own infrastructure to facilitate the sale of cryptocurrencies within the country.
Speaking to Russia 24 television during the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), Igorov claimed that since cryptocurrency mining has become legal, it makes sense to give cryptocurrency miners the opportunity to sell their digital coins legally domestically.
Russian digital currency miners are now forced to sell their cryptocurrencies "externally, in the virtual world." The executive affirmed that providing this option to them in the Russian Federation is crucial from the perspective of their development, explaining:
"Naturally, there should be some kind of infrastructure within Russia, so that if they mine it legally, they can sell it legally."
Igorov noted that it is strange for mining companies to be prohibited from benefiting from what they have mined, while the Russian state has already allowed them to do so. He added, "You must be consistent, this is how I see it."
He explained that about a thousand companies and individual entrepreneurs, along with two thousand citizens, are already working in the mining sector. Earlier this year, the Federal Mining Agency (FNS) announced that as of April 1, it had 722 entries in its registry for miners, including 116 "mining infrastructure operators" providing hosting services.
The head of the authority is convinced that the numbers will increase. However, he acknowledged that bringing the entire industry out of the informal economy is not an easy task, reminding that miners who consume less than 6000 kilowatt-hours of electricity per month are not required to register with the authority.
Deputy Finance Minister Ivan Chebyshev revealed this week that more than two-thirds of Russian cryptocurrency miners have not yet applied for registration with the tax authority. He stated to TASS on the sidelines of the economic forum in Russia's second-largest city that only 30% of total participants in this sector have registered with the federal tax authority so far.
Financial regulators are considering launching Russian cryptocurrency exchanges.
Speaking separately to RBC, Chebyshev revealed that the Ministry of Finance and the Bank of Russia are currently discussing legalizing cryptocurrency trading platforms, initially within the Russian experimental legal regime (ELR) for cryptocurrency operations.
ELR was proposed as part of the legislation adopted last year to facilitate the use of cryptocurrencies in foreign trade, as Western sanctions due to Moscow's invasion of Ukraine have severely restricted Russian companies' access to the global financial system.
A Ministry of Finance official pointed out that while Russian investors can already buy cryptocurrency derivatives, Russia lacks the infrastructure to support cryptocurrency trading. He also noted that authorities are currently studying the use of existing exchanges for this purpose.
Chebyshev also confirmed that financial regulators share the view that cryptocurrency trading should be accessible only to "highly qualified" investors.