parliament

Draft Law About NFTs Submitted to Russian Parliament

21/05/2022 by Idelto Editor

Lawmakers have filed a bill with the State Duma aimed at introducing the term NFTs to Russian legislation. The authors of the draft say the rights of those who own non-fungible tokens need to be protected as Russians are currently dealing with NFTs at their own risk.

Russian Deputies Propose Amendments Legally Defining NFTs

Members of the lower house of Russian parliament, the Duma, have put forward a draft law that will incorporate the term “NFT-tokens” into the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. The sponsors of the bill, Vladislav Davankov and Anton Tkachev, are from the parliamentary group of the liberal New People party.

The explanatory note to the bill, Tass news agency reported, states that the initiative aims to “recognize NFT-tokens as non-fungible tokens of unique digital assets (images, videos or other content) in the form of non-fungible data stored in a distributed ledger system (blockchain system).”

“We need to protect the rights of NFT owners,” said Tkachev, quoted by the party’s press service. He pointed out that at present the legal concept of non-fungible tokens does not exist in Russian law and people continue to make transactions with NFT tokens at their own risk. He further elaborated:

Things have moved forward with cryptocurrencies, but an NFT is not a digital currency but a digital certificate of ownership, that is, an object of intellectual property, which is why we propose to regulate NFTs as intellectual property.

While Russian authorities have been taking steps to comprehensively regulate the country’s crypto space, Russia’s current and upcoming legislation does not explicitly mention NFTs. The term digital financial assets (DFAs), introduced with a law which went into force in January 2021, partially covers cryptocurrencies and some types of tokens.

A new bill “On Digital Currency,” which was submitted by the Ministry of Finance in February, is expected to be adopted this year. It has been designed to fill the remaining regulatory gaps in the nation’s legislation. It has already won the support of the federal government in Moscow, while the Central Bank of Russia remains opposed to the legalization of cryptocurrencies like bitcoin.

Do you think the State Duma will approve the new legislation for non-fungible tokens? Tell us in the comments section below.

Proposed Crypto Mining Ban in Norway Fails to Gain Support in Parliament

13/05/2022 by Idelto Editor

A push to prohibit the energy-intensive proof-of-work mining of cryptocurrencies in Norway has been rejected by the majority of lawmakers. The ban had been suggested by the far-left Red Party which also didn’t win backing to raise an electricity tax for crypto miners.

Norway Will Not Ban Bitcoin Mining

The parliament of Norway has considered and voted against a draft law banning the minting of digital currencies based on the proof-of-work concept. The legislation, which was proposed by the communist Red Party in March, was supported only by two other leftist parties, SV (the Socialist Left Party) and MdG (the Green Party).

“We are obviously disappointed with the majority here,” Red lawmaker Sofie Marhaug told the E24 news portal. She added that the Norwegian society must determine its priorities regarding power usage. Her party says bitcoin mining is extremely energy-intensive and insists on putting an emphasis on the needs of other industries and climate change goals.

However, as Marhaug pointed out, the majority in the Storting, Norway’s legislature, wants to prioritize the market, and “give the bill to Norwegian electricity consumers.”

The Red also failed to win support for a proposal to revise the electricity surcharge for mining data centers, accusing the Labor Party (Ap) and Centre Party (Sp) of breaching a pre-election promise. The two parties had announced they would seek a full electricity fee for mining farms.

While households, many businesses, and the public sector currently pay 0.15 kroner (approx. $0.02) per kilowatt-hour of spent electricity, the industry, including data centers, enjoys a reduced levy of just 0.0055 kroner per kWh.

In February, the Norwegian government said it will try to avoid imposing a crypto ban, but made it clear it was considering various measures regarding the electricity consumption in the sector. In November, Norway admitted it’s mulling over ways to limit the environmental impact of bitcoin minting and may support a Swedish proposal for a European ban on proof-of-work mining.

“In a time of energy scarcity and challenges with cutting emissions, it is particularly harmful that power is wasted only to enrich individuals rather than being used for socially beneficial purposes,” the three leftist parties said. However, the parliamentary majority has objected to the politically motivated discrimination against mining data centers.

What do you think about the debate in Norway on the future of the crypto mining industry? Share your thoughts on the subject in the comments section below.

UK Outlines Plans to Support Crypto Adoption, Create More Powers to Seize and Recover Digital Assets

11/05/2022 by Idelto Editor

Delivering the Queen’s Speech, Prince Charles outlines the British government’s plans to support the safe adoption of cryptocurrencies and create “powers to more quickly and easily seize and recover crypto assets.”

UK Government Plans to Support Crypto Adoption

The U.K. government outlined its legislative agenda for the next parliamentary year in the Queen’s Speech delivered Tuesday by Prince Charles, the monarch’s son and first in line to the throne. The Queen’s Speech is written by the government and read out by the monarch as part of the official state opening of parliament.

Speaking to both the House of Lords and the House of Commons, Prince Charles detailed numerous commitments that Her Majesty’s government will carry out. He mentioned that 22 bills will be introduced, telling parliament that the government’s “priority is to grow and strengthen the economy and help ease the cost of living for families.”

One of the bills is the “Financial Services and Markets Bill,” according to the background and briefing notes of the Queen’s Speech posted on the government’s website. The purpose of this bill is to “maintain and enhance the U.K.’s position as a global leader in financial services” and “seize the benefits of Brexit,” the document details.

Among the benefits of this bill is:

Harnessing the opportunities of innovative technologies in financial services, including supporting the safe adoption of cryptocurrencies and resilient outsourcing to technology providers.

Bill to Create More Powers to Seize, Recover Crypto Assets

Another bill Prince Charles highlighted that mentioned cryptocurrency is the “Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill.” This bill aims to “crack down on the kleptocrats, criminals, and terrorists who abuse our open economy, ensuring we drive out dirty money from the U.K.”

Among the elements of the bill is:

Creating powers to more quickly and easily seize and recover crypto assets, which are the principal medium used for ransomware.

“The creation of a civil forfeiture power will mitigate the risk posed by those who cannot be criminally prosecuted but use their funds to further criminality,” the Queen’s Speech briefing note describes.

What do you think about the British government’s plans to support crypto adoption? Let us know in the comments section below.

Bill Regulating Crypto Mining Submitted to Russian Parliament

30/04/2022 by Idelto Editor

A draft law tailored to regulate cryptocurrency mining has been filed with the lower house of Russian parliament, the State Duma. The legislation provides a legal definition for the extraction of digital currencies and envisages the establishment of a register for miners.

Russian Lawmakers to Review Legislation Enforcing Rules for Crypto Mining Sector

The draft of the new federal law “On Mining in Russian Federation” has been submitted to the Duma on Friday, April 29, according to the website of the house. The bill aims to bring the crypto-related industry out of the “grey” economy in Russia, a country rich in energy resources and favorable climatic conditions for mining.

The authors of the bill describe the minting of digital coins as an activity using information infrastructure and equipment located in the Russian Federation, which results in the creation of digital currency. They also introduce legal definitions for the circulation of digital currencies, mining pools and operators mining facilities.

The law provides for the creation of a special register for cryptocurrency miners that will be maintained by an authorized federal body. Private individuals involved in bitcoin mining will be able to register as individual entrepreneurs or self-employed persons if their electricity consumption exceeds certain limits set by the government.

Only registered entities and persons will be allowed to mine, RBC Crypto reported, quoting the document. The operators of mining facilities in Russia will be required to keep records of the minted cryptocurrencies, their types, any contracts with other entities and buyers of the coins, exchange operators, payment systems, and banks.

If deputies in the Duma adopt the law, a one-year “amnesty” will be announced for registered miners, within which they will be able to sort out any outstanding issues with customs clearance for imported hardware, pay relevant taxes and comply with applicable regulations. That includes the recently adopted rules for money transfers outside the Russian Federation.

Russian authorities have been working to develop a comprehensive regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies. A bill “On Digital Currency” has been prepared by the Finance Ministry to fill the legal gaps remaining after the enforcement of the law “On Digital Financial Assets” last year. The department recently revised the draft to clarify certain aspects pertaining to crypto mining. The Russian parliament is expected to approve this law, along with tax amendments, during its spring session.

Do you think the Russian parliament will adopt the mining law together with the other crypto legislation? Tell us in the comments section below.

Draft Law Regulating Aspects of Crypto Taxation Submitted to Russian Parliament

17/04/2022 by Idelto Editor

A bill updating Russia’s tax law to incorporate provisions pertaining to cryptocurrencies has been filed with the State Duma, the lower house of parliament. The legislation is tailored to regulate the taxation of sales and profits in the country’s market for digital assets.

Russian Deputies to Review Law on Crypto-Related Taxation

The federal government of Russia has submitted to the State Duma a draft law introducing rules for the taxation of transactions involving cryptocurrencies. The bill will make the necessary amendments to Russia’s tax code to answer a range of outstanding questions.

One of the aspects is the application of value-added tax (VAT). According to the authors, VAT should be levied on services provided by operators of platforms issuing or exchanging digital financial assets (DFA), a term encompassing cryptocurrencies in current Russian law.

The tax base for “digital rights,” another legal definition that covers security and utility tokens, will be determined as the difference between the sale and acquisition price of the token, Forklog reported, quoting the document.

Russian entities owning tokens will pay 13% of the revenues from their digital rights while the tax rate for foreign companies will be 15%. The issuers of digital financial assets will be obliged to file tax reports on the parties involved and the transactions made during the current year by Feb. 1 of next year.

The law will not affect Russians holding cryptocurrencies, Andrey Tugarin, managing partner at the law firm GMT Legal, told the crypto news outlet. He explained that the bill concerns only the market for digital financial assets and digital rights. The tax regime it introduces mirrors the one applicable to the securities market.

Parallel to the tax bill, the Russian government is also preparing to file a new draft law “On Digital Currency,” recently revised and submitted to the cabinet by the Ministry of Finance. The department is a proponent of the legalization of cryptocurrencies while the Bank of Russia opposes it.

Expectations are that the two pieces of legislation will both be adopted during the spring session of the State Duma. They will complement the law “On Digital Financial Assets,” which went into force in January 2021 and only partially regulated the country’s crypto sector, to establish a comprehensive legal framework for cryptocurrencies.

Do you expect Russia to quickly adopt the new crypto laws? Let us know in the comments section below.