Russia might just flip the script on crypto next year, with a bill to legalize Bitcoin mining possibly hitting the ground running as early as January 1, 2023. That’s the word from Anatoly Aksakov, the head of the State Duma’s Financial Markets Committee and the country’s go-to guy for crypto laws.
He spilled the beans to local media on November 18, 2022, saying parliament’s gearing up to chew over the proposal in December—complete with debates among MPs who’ve shot down similar ideas before.
This isn’t Russia’s first stab at this. An earlier push to greenlight crypto mining crashed and burned when lawmakers called it half-baked and riddled with gaps. But Aksakov’s feeling good about this one, boasting it’s been fine-tuned by the crypto regs crew. He’s banking on it sailing through after getting a proper once-over, with the bill hitting the chamber floor that very day and votes lined up in the weeks ahead. Crypto Twitter’s Bitcoin Archive even flagged the buzz in a tweet, hinting at big moves amidst the Russia-Ukraine mess.
Here’s the catch: the bill’s got a leash. Companies could mine Bitcoin and other coins on Russian turf, but they’d be barred from trading them locally—presumably to keep the spoils out of domestic circulation. Instead, it’s rumored to set up government-run mining pools for approved “individual” and “industrial” miners, plus a sandbox where crypto deals could happen under an “experimental legal system.” Think tight oversight and lots of red tape—a way to dip a toe in without diving headfirst.
Why the U-turn? Many see it as Russia’s sly workaround to dodge the EU’s sanctions hammer, which got heavier in October 2022 with a ban on Russian-held crypto wallets in the bloc. With the war in Ukraine grinding on, legalizing mining could be Moscow’s bid to keep cash flowing despite the West’s chokehold. For now, it’s a waiting game—will MPs bite, or is this another false start in Russia’s crypto dance?
