Russian Ministry of Finance Proposes 3 Legal Categories for Cryptocurrencies

The Ministry of Finance in Russia plans to update its legal classifications for cryptocurrencies into three distinct categories. According to Deputy Finance Minister Alexei Moiseev, the proposed categories are:

• Technical tokens
• Virtual assets
• Digital financial assets

The story was first reported in the local Russian news outlet RNS Online. 

Three New Legal Categories

The three categories are similar to what already exists in other countries but more codified. Technical tokens are, as you might expect, simply utility tokens which are crucial to the functioning of a network. Ethereum (ETH) likely falls in this category. Virtual assets, on the other hand, can be seen as cryptocurrencies that are often used to transact value. Bitcoin (BTC) or Litecoin (LTC) would fall into this category. In the United States, these kinds of cryptocurrencies are often treated as commodities as outlined by the CFTC. Finally, digital financial assets could alternatively be called securities. These are often tokens sold during ICOs which have dividends or market themselves as a way to make money.

Russia to Update Cryptocurrency Laws Soon

The new legal categories proposed will likely find their way in a new bill being proposed in the State Duma. Called Federal law No. 419059-7, it was recently requested by Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev that the bill be adopted by November 1. It should be noted that cryptocurrencies will still not be legal tender in the country. The Ministry of Finance and the country’s Central Bank have both said that making it so would ‘unfairly’ compete with the ruble. However, the Deputy Finance Minister, Alexei Moiseev, also told reporters at the Gaidar Economic Forum in January 2019 that cryptocurrency-related debit cards are legal in the country. The bottom line is that all cryptocurrency-related payments must be linked to the ruble in some way. Russia is likely trying to capitalize on cryptocurrencies as a possible hedge against the U.S. dollar. A few months ago, BeInCrypto reported that the country officially legalized digital assets — but will soon be expanding these to three categories. Do you think the Russian state may get involved in cryptocurrency trading? Let us know your thoughts below in the comments.