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Cryptocurrency mining in Russia: the main changes in the legislation

Legal Digest News
On November 1, the provisions of the law "On Mining" came into force, allowing legal mining of cryptocurrencies. Acsour experts reviewed the changes that have been made to the law and told how to buy, exchange and accumulate cryptocurrency in accordance with the law.

What happened?

On August 8, President Vladimir Putin signed Federal Law No. 221-FZ "On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation", according to which cryptocurrency mining becomes a legally regulated process on the territory of the Russian Federation. However, due to the need to finalize the details of the regulatory process, the entry into force of some provisions has been postponed.

The provisions of the law, which came into force on November 1, introduce mining into the legal field of Russia and systematize the processes of the cryptocurrency market.

Acsour experts note that the cryptocurrency mining market has been established in Russia for a long time: before the law came into force, an industrial mining association appeared, and in a number of areas with low electricity tariffs, virtual currency mining was widespread. The adoption of the law in this situation was a natural step.

Who can mine?

According to the legislation, mining can be engaged in:

  • Sole proprietors and legal entities registered in the register "MiningReestr" of the Federal Tax Service.
  • Individuals have the right to mine cryptocurrencies without being included in the register, if they do not exceed the limit of energy consumption limits set by the regions.

Acsour experts note that at the moment there is no official information on the procedure for registering sole proprietors and companies in the register of the Federal Tax Service, as well as on electricity limits for individuals. However, the legislator clarifies that violations may result in exclusion from the register of miners.

Who can’t mine?

The adopted law prohibits mining cryptocurrencies

  • individual entrepreneurs with an outstanding criminal record for a number of crimes;
  • persons in respect of whom there is information about their connection with extremist activities or terrorism;
  • Companies and sole proprietors who work in the field of transmission, production or purchase and sale of electricity or conduct operational dispatch management activities in the electric power industry.

Who can provide services to miners?

The new law also affected organizations that provide services to miners: data centers and hosting sites. From November 1, operators of services for miners must register in a special register of the Federal Tax Service: without registration in the register, their activities will be considered illegal, as well as cooperation with non-registered miners in the register.

What is forbidden?

The new cryptocurrency mining law also highlights bans on

  • Advertising cryptocurrency and goods, works, services in the field of crypto exchange;
  • Acceptance of digital currency for their goods, works, services (exception: it is allowed to reward the activities of a miner or operator of a mining infrastructure with virtual currency);
  • Purchase of foreign digital financial assets (digital rights to an asset) on Russian platforms without the permission of the regulator. This prohibition applies to individuals.

How is income from cryptocurrencies generated?

The process of registering income from virtual currencies differs for individuals and legal entities.

Individuals need to:

  • record all the facts of buying and selling digital coins;
  • submit a declaration in the form of 3-NDFL. You can do this offline or online through "Gosuslugi". The declaration is submitted no later than April 30 of the year following the year in which the income was received;
  • confirm income and expenses. For this purpose, contracts, documents on transfers and transactions, uploads from the personal account on the crypto exchange, screenshots and any other documents that allow you to establish the chronology of transactions with cryptocurrency are used. Documents in a foreign language will require translation into Russian and notarization.

For proper accounting of cryptocurrencies, the company must:

  • o consolidate the approach to the tax accounting of cryptocurrencies in accounting policy, and for organizations on the general taxation system — in accounting policy;
  • determine the applicability of the cross-rate of the estimated value of the cryptocurrency for accounting in rubles on the date of the transaction;
  • develop regulations for documenting transactions, "link" a wallet in the blockchain to a legal entity;
  • calculate the tax base, fill out the declaration, replenish the unified tax account.

Acsour experts also point out that

  • legal entities pay income tax on the sale of cryptocurrencies at a rate of 20%;
  • individuals and sole proprietors applying the general taxation system pay personal income tax at a rate of 13%. If the income for 2024 is more than 5 million rubles, the rate increases to 15%.;
  • Sole proprietors and companies applying the simplified taxation system pay tax when receiving income from transactions with cryptocurrency, depending on the object of taxation. Tax rates of 6% or 15% are applied, respectively.

Only income received from the sale of digital coins is subject to taxation if it has brought financial benefits.

Acsour experts note that the new law will systematize the cryptocurrency market in the country, and will also provide a large number of opportunities for both individuals and businesses. However, the process of establishing legislation in this area is fraught with a number of risks, including financial ones: our specialists regularly conduct in-depth studies of innovations and will be happy to help you support crypto projects.
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