Russian Parliament

The Russian Parliament is about to pass a draft bill on cryptocurrencies and digital tokens in which they are considered assets. Unfortunately, locals and tourists won’t be able to pay for goods and services using cryptocurrencies in Russia.
Russian Parliament To Regulate Cryptocurrencies
The bill outlines the legal framework for mining and blockchain-based transactions and legalizes terms such as “digital financial asset”, officially defined as a security in electronic form “created using encryption methods, of which the legal title of ownership is verified by making a digital record in the register of digital transactions”.
The bill, drafted by the Russian Finance Ministry, also makes the distinction between a digital token and a cryptocurrency based on the number of producers, one person versus several persons (miners), respectively.
The draft law regulates all forms of exchange as it allows digital tokens and cryptocurrencies to be converted into fiat currency only through licensed exchanges of digital financial assets and existing trading platforms that have stock exchange licenses.
Based on this draft, cryptocurrencies are not an authorized means of payment in Russia, which means they are not money. Elvira Nabiullina, President of the Central Bank of Russia, called Bitcoin “quasi-money”.
“The purpose of these bills is to define the scope of action and of the regulations of cryptocurrencies, not their prohibition, and this is good news for Russia”, Anti Danilevski, Chief Executive Officer of blockchain crowdfunding website KickICO, told Forbes.