As Russia continues to work on new regulations for the cryptocurrency industry, the country’s Ministry of Finance has expressed new support for Bitcoin (BTC) mining.
Russia should encourage the development of industrial-level cryptocurrency mining in the country, urged the director of the ministry’s financial policy department, Alexei Yakovlev.
It also makes no sense to ban retail or home Bitcoin mining, Yakovlev said, as local publication Prime reported on Thursday. Russian lawmakers discussed the two categories of cryptocurrency miners at a recent roundtable called “Mining regulation in Russia: For and Again” (lit. “Regulation of mining in Russia: For and against”)
According to Yakovlev, Russian officials have long since reached a consensus on the regulatory framework for crypto mining companies, supporting their work and demanding that they pay taxes.
However, there is still some disagreement regarding retail miners, Yakovlev said. He added that the Ministry of Finance is not inclined to ban this type of mining, stating:
“We think there is a need to focus on developing industrial mining, but it probably doesn’t make sense to ban mining at home.”
Yakovlev went on to say that Legislators continue to work on the Russian crypto regulation bill, planning to maximize economic efficiency and minimize potential risks such as money laundering and terrorist financing, as well as ensure energy security.
As previously reported, some of the major companies related to cryptocurrency mining in Russia would have no problem carrying out their operations in case the government starts cracking down on cryptocurrencies. BitRiver, the largest cryptocurrency mining facility service provider in Russia, is unlikely to be affected by such measures, says the firm’s CEO.
The Russian Ministry of Finance officially submitted the first documentation related to the country’s new crypto regulation bill in mid-February. The ministry previously published a concept to regulate the cryptocurrency market, highlighting the importance of the cryptocurrency mining industry in the country, as Russia was the third largest country by BTC mining hash rate in August. 2021.
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