Back in 2020, a bill on digital financial assets was developed and adopted, which came into force on 1.01.2021, but there are still conflicting conversations about it. The most serious stumbling block in this law is considered to be the lack of coverage of all aspects of regulation – the law does not provide for some important points that can cause disputes. The law describes what a cryptocurrency is and supposedly fully lists what can be done with it and what cannot be done, but, in fact, this document raises much more questions than it clarifies the regulation of the crypto industry.
The law on digital financial assets assumes that cryptocurrency does not have the meaning of finance in Russia – it can be bought, stored and sold as property, but you cannot buy anything for it, pay with it. In addition, the text of the bill itself contains a very vague description of what a digital currency is, instead of a clear definition, there is a reference to the definition of digital law, which is given in the Civil Code. This is a serious gap, since when regulating anything, first of all, it is necessary to give a clear definition of this concept. The ambiguity in the wording can be used for its own purposes. However, previously, cryptocurrency was already defined as electronic property created using cryptographic methods. But, nevertheless, many experts agree that the legal regulation of cryptocurrency is difficult at the initial level due to compromise legal definitions.
It should, of course, take into account that in Russia the crypto industry is only reaching the level of its formation, which is why many issues have not yet been resolved. In particular, there are shortcomings in some aspects.
- The concept. The legislative power of the state did not use the terms familiar to the entire crypto community in the wording of its new law on regulating the turnover of cryptocurrency funds, but introduced its own terms, which caused uncertainty. At the same time, the definition given by the law may include not only cryptocurrencies in their usual sense, but also other digital means – bonuses, electronic certificates, etc.
- Mining. This huge area of the cryptocurrency industry was completely ignored. So far, the government has not made a general decision on the legality of mining cryptocoins.
- Legal basis. Experts have found controversial points in the wording of the law, some of them completely contradict each other. In particular, the shortcomings are noticeable in the way of using cryptocurrency on the territory of the Russian Federation – cryptocurrency can be changed, bought, sold, but it is impossible to pay. This makes the fact of owning a digital currency impractical from an economic point of view.
- Tax regulation. In the changes made to the tax Code on the basis of the adopted law on digital financial assets, there are some gaps that may allow you to interpret the law in your own interests. Moreover, the tightening of tax legislation regarding the cryptocurrency industry will lead to the fact that the majority of owners, investors and holders of cryptocurrencies will go into the shadow zone.
There are also questions about the possibility of judicial protection of the right to cryptocurrency and verification of ownership of digital currency. Initially, it is not clear how the verification of ownership will be carried out if the blockchain implies the anonymity of the user. It is also characterized by the lack of the possibility of buying goods for cryptocurrencies, but it is unclear how this is planned to be regulated.