The Federation Council rejected the proposal to punish for the use of cryptocurrencies

The Federation Council did not support a bill banning the use of bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies in Russia, RIA Novosti reports.

“In many countries of the world, bitcoins are recognized as a means of payment and an exchange commodity, in this regard, in particular, there is a special decision of the European Court,” explains Lyudmila Bokova, deputy chairman of the constitutional committee of the Federation Council. In this regard, the development of cryptocurrencies is also inevitable in Russia, and it is not advisable to refuse them, she believes.

Earlier, Deputy Finance Minister Alexei Moiseev said that the ministry would submit to the State Duma a bill on criminalizing the exchange of bitcoins for rubles and vice versa. The law provides for criminal liability for bank managers for up to seven years for violating the law.

Chairman of the Investigative Committee Alexander Bastrykin also spoke in favor of introducing criminal liability for the issue and circulation of money surrogates, in particular bitcoins.

Bokova admits that it is necessary to control the circulation of cryptocurrencies in Russia, “clear legislative regulation of all issues related to the issuance and circulation of cryptocurrencies should be introduced.”

In particular, this is due to the fact that bitcoins can finance terrorism and other criminal activities.