The State Duma adopted the draft law ‘On Digital Financial Assets, Digital Currency, and Amending Certain Laws of the Russian Federation’. Under the draft law, legal entities (profit and non-profit organisations) and individual entrepreneurs will be able to issue digital financial assets (DFAs) regardless of their country of residence, and anyone who wishes to will be able to buy them.
The Bank of Russia will be able to stipulate the characteristics of DFAs that may be acquired by non-qualified investors and the threshold of investment in such assets.
Further, all transactions with DFAs may be conducted only through digital financial asset exchange operators, which can be banks and exchanges, as well as other legal entities, provided they meet specific criteria.
The draft law also introduces the definition of digital currency that may not be a means of payment. Moreover, digital currency holdings, receipt and transfers will be deemed to be lawful only on their declaration.