President Vladimir Putin of Russia has signed into law a bill banning payments with digital financial assets. The legislation obliges exchange operators to refuse to process transactions facilitating the use of DFAs, a legal category currently covering cryptocurrencies, as “monetary surrogates.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a law imposing direct restrictions on the use of digital financial assets (DFAs) as a means of payment inside his country, the crypto page of the RBC business news portal reported. The ban applies to utilitarian digital rights (UDRs) as well.
Russia is yet to comprehensively regulate cryptocurrencies, but the law “On Digital Financial Assets,” which went into force in January 2021, introduced the two legal terms. Russian officials have in the past indicated that DFA encompasses cryptocurrencies while UDR applies to various tokens. This fall, Russian lawmakers will review a new bill “On Digital Currency” designed to fill the regulatory gaps.
Along with banning direct payments with digital financial assets, the law also obliges the operators of platforms offering exchange services to reject any transactions that can potentially lead to the use of DFAs to substitute the Russian ruble as a payment instrument.
The new legislation will enter into force 10 days after its publication in Russia’s government gazette. Regarding the option for exemptions in its application, the RBC report notes that Russian legal experts have already highlighted certain controversies in the document.
Do you expect Russian businesses to find a legal way to use cryptocurrencies in payments? Share your thoughts on the subject in the comments section below.
