Russia to soon approve cryptocurrency bill

Russia will soon join the list of countries that have adopted cryptocurrency legislation. The recent development comes on the heels of recent reports that suggest that Russians might be responsible for a huge crypto theft. This is on top of the fact that it will be rebuffing the new Facebook crypto coin, thus preventing it from becoming legal tender.

Russia is expected to pass the crypto bill called “On Digital Financial Assets” (DFA) soon, Coin telegraph reports. This information reportedly came via Alexei Moiseev, the deputy finance minister himself, who said that the state is currently looking into the matter and might just pass it.

On that note, recent reports are suggesting that Russian elements are also responsible for arguably the biggest incident of theft involving cryptocurrency yet. This particular revelation supposedly has to do with a virus that has been linked to hackers based in Russia, Coindesk reports. The amount stolen stood at $530 million during the time of the incident.

This particular theft occurred back in January of 2018 and it was thought, at the time, that North Korean hackers might have been responsible for the crime. However, this new development suggests that this is not the case. When taken in conjunction with the upcoming crypto bill being passed, the implications can be staggering.

Russia has previously approved separate legislation for initial coin offerings (ICOs). If DFA is passed, the country's cryptocurrency regulation will be aligned with the order of Russian president Vladimir Putin, who required the state to enforce crypto regulation by July 1, 2019.