Russians may soon need a special visa to invest in cryptocurrencies

Russian citizens may soon need to obtain a special visa to transfer money from their Russian bank accounts into digital financial assets – in particular, cryptocurrencies.

Anatoly Aksakov, chairman of the State Duma Finnish Market Committee, has told Russian news outlet Izvestia that without a special “visa”, Russians will not be able to make transfers from their bank into digital financial assets.

To obtain the visa, Russian citizens will need to prove their identity. Currently, the body in charge of overseeing the identification process has not been determined, nor have the specifics of the procedure.

Reportedly, market participants responded positively to the idea of introducing mandatory identification systems.

Any transaction made with an unidentified participant will be indicative of illegal schemes.

Aksakov has also stated that any “cryptotool” will need to be tested for compliance with the requirements of Russian legislation. If it is not compliant, the cryptotool will be recognised as “illegal”.

Aksakov stressed that the bill will be paired with current legislation related to countering money laundering. Present punishment for violating the ‘anti-laundering’ law can be up to 15 years in prison.

The news comes after reports had suggested the State Duma have plans to review and adopt a law relating to crypto in March this year.

Interested in reading more crypto-related news from Russia? Discover how Vladimir Putin has called for the Russian government to adopt crypto regulation by July 2019.