Russia Likely to Mandate Identity Checks for Bitcoin Purchases

Russia’s deputy finance minister said this week that cryptocurrency purchasers in the country will be required to prove their identity under forthcoming regulations.

In a month and a half, the Russian Finance Ministry will finalize proposals for cryptocurrency regulation, according to the Russian state-owned news agency TASS.

The Ministry is proposing to regulate the transaction of cryptocurrencies using principles that apply to financial instruments such as derivatives. A key aspect of the regulations will be a mandate for identification of digital currency, said Alexei Moiseev, the Deputy Finance Minister.

"If you want to buy any financial product, you need to show passport, fill out a contract, write that you are not an American taxpayer. The same should apply here," Moiseev added.

This position is in line with the sentiment from Elvira Nabiullina, the Governor of the Central Bank of Russia, who told CNBC in a recent interview that the country is more likely to regard the bitcoin as a digital financial asset instead of a virtual currency.

And the news follows word that the Bank of Russia, the country’s central bank, is moving ahead with new rules that would recognize bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as digital goods, with relevant tax imposed.

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