According to the report by Tass, Mr Konovalov went on to say that cryptocurrency can be considered “other property” in terms of legislation. But he added that it still isn’t necessary to define the concept of cryptocurrency more clearly. Cryptocurrency’s legal status in Russia has been unclear for some time now. Just last month, a draft law was put forward by the Ministry of Economic Development to allow certain entities from the IT sector and the blockchain industry to utilize digital assets in their financial transactions, giving hope to some businesses.

Never-Ending Gray Area

The Minister of Justice’s position does nothing to clarify Russia’s already ambiguous stance on cryptocurrencies. The country has frequently been unclear on where it stands with Bitcoin and crypto. Last year, the lower house of Russia’s parliament ended up postponing the second reading of a long-awaited bill intended to regulate cryptocurrencies in the country. Russia’s Central Bank and the Ministry of Economic Development have clashed over how much to regulate the new technology.

Last month, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev expressed an interest in digital assets when he said during a high-level economic conference that there is no reason to “bury them” and that they have both “bright and dark sides.” At the same time, at least 51 bitcoin ATMs are operating in Russia, despite legislation not yet determining the legal status of cryptocurrencies. A recent poll showed that the use of cryptocurrencies to buy goods on the internet is increasing in popularity in the country.

What is evident is that so far the Russian Federation’s authorities have yet to make up their minds on what to do with cryptocurrencies, leaving them languishing in a gray area.