According to the Russian media RBC, which met with Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov, the Russian government would have discussed, through a working group on blockchain, the opportunity to develop infrastructure on Russian soil Calculations dedicated to crypto-currencies that would exploit the surplus energy produced by the country.
After having long been hostile to bitcoin, Russia would now seek to oversee and develop this new sector.
Sources : rbc.ru – vestifinance.ru – fortune.com
Bitcoin history in Russia:
- January 18, 2014: rumor of a bill to make illegal or at least to curb the use of Bitcoin. However, the information is not official.
- January 27, 2014: The Central Bank of the Federation issues a notice stating that the exchange of bitcoins for rubles, currencies, goods or services will now be considered as " a potential involvement in the implementation of" Suspicious transactions in accordance with the legislation on the neutralization of laundering of proceeds of crime and the financing of terrorism ".
- February 6, 2014: Attorney General of the Russian Federation publishes a statement announcing the implementation of a number of "specific solutions" to fight against Bitcoin, now considered illegal.
- July 2014: Gueorgui Lountovskiy, Vice-President of the Central Bank of Russia, wants legislative control and a cautious approach to Bitcoin which he considers as "an instrument of the future".
- August 2014: The Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation is preparing a bill to prohibit the use of " independent virtual currencies " accused of facilitating the " shadow economy " and allowing " the purchase of Illegal goods ".
- October 2014: The Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation presents its bill and makes illegal the use of " money substitutes ... including in electronic form ".
- January 2015: the authorities of the Russian Federation place the main sites speaking Bitcoin (including bitcoin.org ) in the list of sites that the access providers have the obligation to block.
- June 2015: The Central Bank of Russia (CBR) is organizing a meeting with representatives of the financial markets to discuss the future of Bitcoin in Russia. Some newspapers see it as a sign of a relaxed policy towards Bitcoin.
- At an educational forum broadcast on the Rossiya 24 channel , Vladimir Putin adopts a very ambiguous position, stating that "electronic currencies are not based on anything", that they are "not guaranteed", that their use "Poses real problems" but that they are not illegal in Russia.
- October 26, 2015: The Russian press reports that the Ministry of Finance proposes to punish by four years of imprisonment "the production and use of crypto-currencies" .
- February 2, 2016: The Ministry of the Interior of the Russian Federation proposes to condemn users of Bitcoin to one year of "re-education through labor" and a fine of half a million rubles .
- 10 March 2016: The Ministry of the Interior of the Russian Federation is tightening its sanction proposal : up to four years of imprisonment for ordinary users and six years for members of organized groups.
- At the end of May 2016, the Russian authorities announced that they wanted to develop their own digital currency.
- August 2016: the Russian authorities suspend the bill to penalize the use of Bitcoin.