Criminal liability for issuance and circulation of bitcoins proposed in Russia

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16:38 14/01/2016

MOSCOW, January 14 (RAPSI) – Several concerned governmental agencies in co-operation with the Investigative Committee proposed to introduce criminal liability for issuance and circulation of quasi-money, particularly bitcoins, the head of the Investigative Committee, Alexander Bastrykin, said on Thursday in an interview with Rossiskaya Gazeta.

According to Bastrykin, digital currency has become widely used in Russia over the last years.

The most successful and perhaps the most controversial virtual currency scheme is bitcoin. Used in many countries, it can compete with official currencies, including the euro and US dollar. However, bitcoin is not secured by any assets or tied to any world currency. Its exchange rate is determined by market supply and demand.

Bitcoin is a decentralized virtual currency, created by computer users worldwide through a complex programming procedure called mining. Bitcoin’s status varies from acceptance to restriction as some governments are concerned about risks involved in bitcoin use.