New cryptocurrency laws are expected to be introduced for official consideration to the Russia’s national legislature on Dec. 28, according to a senior government official.

Russian media sources RIA and TASS cited comments from lawmaker Anatoly Aksakov, who chairs the State Duma’s financial markets committee, that the new rules – which will reportedly formalize rules around the creation and exchange of cryptocurrencies like bitcoin – are likely to be cleared by early next year.

“I expect that the adoption of the draft law on [cryptocurrencies] will be in March… The problem is that we already have a lot of people who acquire [cryptocurrencies] and they are deceived, we need to give people the opportunity to work legally with it, to protect them as much as possible,” Aksakov was quoted as saying by RIA.

The comments all but confirm that Russia won’t finalize the bill by the end of the year, as Aksakov had previously suggested. In September, the senior lawmaker said he believed the work could be wrapped up before winter. The measure has faced a series of delays due, in part, to conflicting visions over the scope of the proposed laws.

The expected move to submit the bill also comes months after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered new regulations to be developed around cryptocurrencies and blockchain, including rules specifically aimed at initial coin offerings (ICOs).

As quoted by TASS, Aksakov cited Putin’s directives when speaking about the work that is expected to play out over the coming weeks and months.

“We have a deadline designated by the president, and after a week there will be a presentation of the bill that will start to be debated,” he told reporters.

Editor’s Note: Some of the statements in this report have been translated from Russian.

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