Russian government mulls law to register and identify cryptocurrency users Timelines: Geld-Bitcoin, Geld-Petro-Crypto

The Russian government plans to fight money laundering by only allowing members of the state-run “register of crypto-investors” to mine for and use digital currencies, a popular daily reported.

Mass circulation daily Izvestia quoted its unnamed sources “close to the Russian Central Bank and Finance Ministry” as saying that the bill regulating all cryptocurrency operations is already in the works and it could receive an assessment from the State Duma Committee for Legislative Work as soon as this week. The head of the body, MP Pavel Krasheninnikov (United Russia), confirmed the news.

“We aim to minimize the existing risks of using digital objects for transferring assets into an unregulated digital environment for legalization of criminal incomes, bankruptcy fraud or for sponsoring terrorist groups,” the lawmaker said