The Russian State Duma is going to consider the bill on fines for the “unlawful organization of cryptocurrency trafficking.” Experts surveyed by Bits.media believe that the amendments proposed to protect the interests of investors and business have a little relationship.

“The wording is not entirely correct. Cooking “

Denis Polyakov, Head of Practice “Digital Economy” GMT Legal Law Firm:

– Fines are needed to support the existing prohibitions – since without measures of responsibility, prohibitions will not work from the word at all. The wording of the “illegal organization of the turnover of digital currency” is not entirely correct, since there is still no regulation of the turnover of digital currency in the Russian Federation. Accordingly, this formulation is purely formally formally, unfortunately, can be interpreted, including as a ban on the organization of turnover as a whole.

However, there is a little chance that the legislator “looks at tomorrow” and uses such a wording with an eye on the appearance of regulation in the near future.

Most of all, new liability measures can affect exchangers, since it becomes possible to direct their operators to be held accountable.

Almost certainly
bill It will undergo changes, just now it is open to public discussion. Both we and many other legal companies prepare our own comments and editing for a document that will help him become an important part of the general regulation of the Russian digital assets market.

“Where is the example of the legitimate Russian crypto -country?!”

Sergey Mendeleev, founder of Indefibank and Exved:

– Instead of sentencing for violations that were clearly registered in the law, the authors of the project quietly stuck an extremely blurry point on the punishment for the “unlawful organization of the circulation of digital currencies” – adding to the point of “carrying out the activities of the mining infrastructure operator by persons who do not have the right to do so”. Nonsens! After all, these are completely different areas of activity. The feeling, as if someone specifically wanted to hide a item about an unlawful organization, but it was not there

What is an unlawful organization of digital currencies? The Federal Law No. 259 “On the Central Administration” says that the organization of the circulation of digital currency is understood as “the activity of the provision of services aimed at ensuring the commission of civil law transactions and (or) operations entailing the transition of the digital currency from one owner to another, using the objects of Russian information infrastructure.”

In theory, exchanges and P2P sites should fall under this, where people can directly conclude transactions with each other for the sale of cryptocurrencies. And what about exchangers? They sell and buy on their own behalf and, in theory, should not fall here. But, knowing our inconsistent practice of applying laws …

And here: what is unlawful? Can our legislator give an example of a legitimate crypto officer now in Russia? Maybe they introduced cryptolics and OKVEDA? No.

What will happen to the usual P2R-shniks? Yes, it seems nothing, their work is already paralyzed by repression on bank cards: the blocks and risks of the criminal at every step, although no one forbade the turnover of the crypt.

So far, everything is raw as always – damp and nothing is clear, but where the wind blows is quite obvious. More precisely, it will be possible to say when the text of the bill reaches the consideration (and judging by the authors, it will reach quite soon). Most likely, all legal operations with crypto will move under the wing of banks with appropriate licenses, and everything else will go into the gray or black zone. As an example-exchange of currency or purchase and sale of gold coins. If you have one or two private transactions with a neighbor, no one will tell you anything, but it will not work to open an official point in Moscow City.

“Who exactly will benefit from the new law?”

Dmitry Machikhin, founder and general director of the Bitok platform:

– Fines are needed, as usual, to strengthen the norm. Without punishment, prohibitive laws do not work. Especially in the Russian Federation.

How like it is that the new law will force the creators of exchangers, exchanges, mining pools, mining business-to close projects, change jurisdiction? In the coming year, I doubt it strongly. The actions of large exchangers will be indicative, especially with the name of the letter “G”. The law should work the same for everyone – either not to work the same for everyone

Only those that are the first to be the first in line for ligalasis will benefit from the law. The rest who are used to working in the gray zone are strongly strained and are waiting for: whether the amendments will be accepted and how they will work.

“Exchangers are already functioning on the verge of foul”

Vladimir Menaskop Popov, IT-legal

– Fines are needed so that citizens are more dependent on the financial policy of the Central Bank and no other. Fines can help only in one direction – replenishment of the budget, or rather the treasury. They can interfere with what the acts of the Central Bank and other state bodies from 2014 interfere with the introduction of innovation, strengthen the role of Russia in the global financial arena, the country’s entry into global cryptonomics, and so on.

Today, exchanges, exchangers function on the verge of foul. The outcome that was observed more than 11 years ago, of course, will continue. At first, everyone went to European countries, partly to Singapore and Hong Kong, then to offshore zones, and now, I think, it will be a search for compromise decisions at the junction of jurisdictions: for example, Georgia as the main entrance point for the Russian Federation and some company in the same gong Kong as an entry point into the rest of the world.

Everyone will suffer, and above all the same budget, since the taxpayers will become less, the turnover is reduced, and the money that could get into the treasury of salaries, direct expenses of employees, and so on, simply dissolve somewhere else. Of course, the consumer will suffer: he will not receive the desired spectrum of services, even if someone comes up with bypass schemes-they will not be full-fledged by definition.

The situation may change to the diametrically opposite, the project can be frozen. But his very appearance did not add to anyone. Especially taking into account the fact that crypto assets are a real tool of international calculations not only for companies, but also people.

“For all – only a digital ruble”

Sarkis Darbinyan, Kiberadkotk, recognized in Russia in the agent:

– The wording of the “illegal circulation” sounds strange, since now there is no legitimate turnover. The state does not give out either OKVEDs or licenses, but all crypto exchange, in fact, is the activities of the citizens themselves through bank cards issued to individuals. The state did not create conditions, but this would not hurt to enforce a new article. The concept itself, I think, boils down to the fact that there should be no uncontrolled crypt in Russia. There will be a digital ruble for citizens, the law for it has already been adopted and the planned implementation will begin now.

Since the sites that are available through exchangers of exchangers are usually individuals with a fan of different cards, it is not clear – for whom, what are the indicated in the text of the legal entity, officials to impose fines.

Maybe now the punishment does not seem so serious, but no one excludes that in some subsequent iteration there will be a criminal building for a single or two-time administrative prejudice during the year.

At the request of customers, we see that miners and Siberians are already running to Kazakhstan. A large number of cryptans begins to leave physically, including exchangers. Crypt Dali Dali for some time to be in a gray uncontrolled zone, especially in the first, when people wanted some kind of financial independence in conditions of everything stronger than compressed foreign sanctions and other things. But, apparently, the time has come differently, and now full financial control is required.

“It is worth it to regulate everything as much as possible”

Andrey Zakharov, a journalist-investigator, author of the book “Crypt”, is recognized in Russia by the foreigner:

– There have always been two approaches to the regulation of cryptocurrencies in Russia. One approach: to ban everything as much as possible. This is the approach of the Central Bank. The second approach takes into account the realities: the market really exists. This is the position of other departments. The difference in approaches was very clearly visible at the beginning of 2022, when the Central Bank demanded urgent prohibitions.

In general, the state belongs to the crypt with great caution. God forbid there fraudsters, God forbid there something gray that we do not control. Therefore, it is worth maximum as possible, including fines, to regulate.

And you need to understand that fines are always raised later. The authorities see that, for example, what they do not like, or that someone is more profitable to pay than to execute. And then the amounts increase. This corresponds to the approach of the state: the maximum fines are everywhere, the maximum regulatory is everywhere.

Who can win, and who will suffer from the bill? Krupnyak, a conditional “Bitrive”, has resources for accountants, lawyers, specialists who are engaged in advertising in the register and so on. Small and medium -sized businesses that do not have such resources will either close, or try to maneuver or re -register.