Russia moves to cryptocurrency regulation by with draft law to control production and creation of digital money

Russia moved towards regulating cryptocurrencies on Thursday by presenting a draft law aimed at controlling the production and creation of virtual money – something that has drawn both interest and suspicion from authorities.

The law, which still needs to be validated by the government and sent to parliament, aims at “providing a definition of digital technologies used in the financial sphere,” the Russian finance ministry said in a statement published on Thursday.

Russia, like other countries, has been swept up in the growing craze for bitcoin and other virtual currencies not backed by governments or central banks that are increasingly used for purchasing goods and services on the internet.

Long suspicious of virtual money, Russian authorities now recognise it as a force and have started giving a legal basis to virtual currencies like bitcoin.

The ministry said the law will “allow to considerably reduce the risk of fraud” and “help create a transparent tax regime for operations with cryptocurrencies, which will lead to an increase in tax revenues.”