The bill on mining in the Russian Federation bodes well for the legalization of cryptocurrencies, but seems incomplete and inconsistent with other attempts to regulate the industry. This was stated by lawyers interviewed by ForkLog.

They positively evaluated the development of a document aimed at legalizing mining.

“In fact, the legislator defines mined assets as property under Russian law, which is a very positive step towards regulating the legal status of cryptocurrency in Russia,” Andrey Tugarin, managing partner of GMT Legal, told ForkLog.

Lawyers say the “amnesties” proposed in the document also contribute to the legalization of cryptocurrency mining. Throughout the year, miners will be exempted from taxes, equipment customs declaration and a host of other obligations. Such benefits will be a plus for the business, says Yevgeny Kravchenko, an expert at the DRC law firm and lawyer for RosKomSvoboda.

At the same time, Efim Kazantsev, an expert at the Moscow Digital School, said the document looked rather “raw” and left more questions than answers.

According to the bill, if individuals consume electricity above the limits set by the government, they can engage in mining, provided that they are registered as an individual entrepreneur or self-employed and registered in a special registry.

However, this statement allows for two interpretations about individuals who do not exceed this limit, pointed out the expert:

“It remains unclear whether the authors wanted to ban this “balcony” mining, or vice versa, exempt small miners from the need to register mining participants. This clearly needs improvement.”

Kazantsev also noted that the document describes a mining pool, but does not establish any specific rules regarding this category. The bill also doesn’t address mining taxation issues, he says.

Yevgeny Kravchenko emphasized that the bill does not specify its consequences for those who do not want to be registered in the registry.

Tugarin drew attention to the more complex conceptual apparatus and the inconsistency of some provisions of the document with other bills, in particular with the draft “On Digital Money” prepared by the Ministry of Finance. Mining has a different definition.

According to Efim Kazantsev, it would be more logical to include mining-related rules in the draft law “On Digital Currency”.

“According to what has been said, I do not think that this bill will be accepted in its current form. Its provisions need a major overhaul. And in general there are doubts about the appropriateness of such a superficial and fragmented regulation,” he said.

Andrey Tugarin believes that a single law is not enough to regulate the entire crypto industry.

“Separate laws are needed. The Ministry of Finance’s project focuses on digital currency, not mining. More descriptive laws are needed to regulate cryptocurrencies, but they all have to intersect conceptually, otherwise it won’t work,” the lawyer stressed.

He noted that with the third reading, there may be significant changes both in the draft of the Ministry of Finance and in the current document.

Recall that the draft law on mining in the Russian Federation was submitted to the State Duma on April 29. The “Digital Currency” draft under development by the Ministry of Finance is still being finalized.