Russian president wants civil workers to report crypto holdings

TL:DR Breakdown:

• The president of Russia has signed a new law ordering government workers to report any crypto in their possession.
• By 2021, they will disclosure the type and quantity of digital currencies they hold, as per the order.

Notably, the Russian government has since been making new laws – most of which will become effective in 2021 – to regulate the digital currencies in the country. Still on crypto regulation, the president of Russia, Vladimir Putin, now wants every official holding a public position in the country to report any cryptocurrency they hold, regardless of whether they are utility tokens, digital securities, or cryptocurrencies.

Public officials must report their crypto holdings in 2021

President Putin signed the order on Thursday, according to reports. Between January 1 and June 30 next year, both the sitting government workers and those about to assume any public office in the country were ordered to report whatever crypto they possess. The report is expected to cover the type of digital currency, the quantity in their possession, and where they purchased the digital currency.

According to the report, this same mandate applies to whoever wishes to seek a government position in the country. This new crypto disclosure order for civil workers can be seen as a part of the country’s procedure to check against corruption. As reported, the crypto disclosure comes to complement the already-existing mandatory reports of candidates’ property, which is a standard anti-corruption procedure in Russia.

Crypto regulation in Russia

The case of cryptocurrency regulation in Russia has been making headlines across many crypto media. Since this year, the authorities worked up to regulate the use of cryptocurrencies in the country. They had introduced many rules, some of which were thought to be harsh for the industry. As recently as December 9, a digital currency advocacy group in the country moved to call for a soft regulation for cryptos. 

In response to the bill from the Ministry of Finance for taxing crypto, the group warned that harsh regulation could potentially affect the industry.