Russia postpones second reading of crypto draft laws to April

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Russia has postponed the second reading of their cryptocurrency draft laws by one more month. The State Duma, which is the lower house of parliament, unanimously voted to move the reading to April. According to a report by Russian outlet TASS, no explanation was offered as to why the reading was pushed forward.

The motion to postpone the reading was moved by Anatoly Aksakov. Aksakov is the head of the Sate Duma’s Financial Market Committee. There being no objections to the motion, the State Duma’s speaker passed the motion, delaying crypto regulations by yet another month.

The draft bill has been on the table since last May, when it went through the first reading. Despite some lawmakers calling for swift action to regulate cryptos, the Duma has been slow to work on the regulations. The country’s powerful president, Vladimir Putin, has also ordered parliament to enact the crypto regulations by July.

The bill was amended earlier this month to fix some of the terminologies related to cryptos and blockchain technology.

According to the State Duma’s speaker, Vyacheslav Volodin, once passed and accepted into law, the draft will form a crucial part of shaping the future of finance. He stated, “After the adoption of the law, citizens and legal entities will receive additional guarantees, allowing them to participate more actively in the development of the economy of the future. The digital rights bill forms the basis for the development of the digital economy. This is a new area for our rights, because it is important for us to consolidate the basic concepts.”

The crypto laws couldn’t come at a better time for Russia. The oil-rich country has been developing an alternative to the SWIFT financial messaging protocol for the past several months. The system became a necessity following several sanctions against the country by some major trading partners led by the United States.

The country’s parliament approved the alternative system last week. However, it still needs to be ratified by the president before it becomes viable. Russia intends to push the system to its key trading partners and allies, including China.

The system has been linked with the development of a Russian national crypto known as the Crypto Ruble. It would greatly ease the cross border transfer of funds. The crypto wasn’t mentioned in the bill last week however.