The Russian lower house parliament has acknowledged that maintaining close ties with the global settlement network which connects banks, Swift, has the capability of crippling the country’s economy once economic sanctions come knocking. However, a virtual currency bill that was scheduled to be tabled in parliament this month, has been pushed to an unspecified date next month.

The virtual currency bill, if passed, would see Russia recognize digital currencies and necessitate the country to develop regulations around the same. In the past, the virtual currency bill has sought to refer to cryptocurrencies as financial assets after it was reevaluated to strike out any occurrence of the terms ‘token’, ‘cryptocurrency’ and ‘smart contracts.’

According to Tass, a Russian news outlet:

The text defines digital financial assets – such assets recognize digital rights, including liabilities and other rights, including monetary claims, as well as that the possibility of exercising rights under equity securities and rights to require the transfer of equity securities, which are enshrined in the issuance decision of digital financial assets.

Anatoly Aksakov, the head of the State Duma’s Financial Market Committee, was the one who proposed the virtual currency bill to be moved to next month although he did not give any reasons for the postponement request. If the bill is passed by the Russian Duma, it will be presented to the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, for signing into law.

Regarding detaching Russia from the Swift network, Aksakov said that Russia is already engaging its international partners such as China, Iran, and Turkey on how to switch to an alternative messaging system for use by banks and other financial institutions.

Do you think the Russian Duma is likely to pass the virtual currency bill once it is tabled in parliament in April given the relations between Russia and cryptos?

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