Putin Urges Lawmakers to Hurry up Blockchain, Crypto Sandbox Progress

Russian President Vladimir Putin wants his cabinet speed up the rollout of crypto and blockchain regulatory sandboxes to stave off economic recession – even if lawmakers continue to drag their feet over crypto legislation.

As reported, an industry insiders told Cryptonews.com that Russia’s latest draft crypto bill – which proposes a partial crypto crackdown, favored by the Central Bank – will likely hit the buffers. They said the bill will probably not pass parliament for “up to a year,” with the nation’s Ministry of Economic Development (known locally as Minek) opposed to industry-damaging bans.

However, Putin – who has stayed largely out of the impasse so far – is afraid that the country’s IT industry may suffer in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. Per RBC, he has told his cabinet to hurry up and commence work on a number of proposed IT sandboxes – all slated to be policed by the Central Bank.

The media outlet quotes Putin as stating,

“I ask the government and parliament to speed up the finalization and adoption of laws regulating the new pilot projects, so-called “regulatory sandboxes” […] [In these sandboxes, and] in compliance with safety standards and requirements, promising solutions can be worked out in practical scenarios.”

The sandboxes involve companies that work with blockchain, cryptocurrencies and other fintech innovations – and could see multiple locations around the country given a de facto free reign to debut a wide range of crypto-powered solutions.

As recently as March this year, Minek stated that its own plans for the sandbox could involve crypto “legalization.” Minek even wants sandbox companies to be granted permission to avoid having to report their activities to the Central Bank.

Putin is widely reported to be concerned about the IT sector’s growth rates, and claims that tax breaks could also be used as an incentive to help spur innovation.