Previously Russia has several times voiced their stance to impose sanctions on cryptocurrencies by the Bank of Russia. But the move was unpopular with the country's president, Vladimir Putin. Most recently, this week Russian supervisors agreed to accept digital assets as another form of currency.
This announcement was made by the news media themselves. It is interpreted by many that the central bank and the government have reached an agreement in the crypto space after disagreements over the course of days. During the discussion there were documents leaked to the press that had provided details about the conversation.
Based on such unofficial sources there are estimated data stating that Russia has over 16.5 trillion rubles in cryptocurrencies (about $ 215 billion). With this amount, analysts expect the amount of tax revenue that can be collected on cryptocurrencies could potentially reach one trillion rubles a year, $ 13 billion in US dollars.
Analysts also share that Russia arguably holds the crypto market size of the global economy up to 12% or more. At the same time, the report noted that this estimate has been questioned by some government officials.
Experts elaborate that crypto-related taxes can be collected from two main sources namely levies on legal entities, such as exchanges and service providers, as well as taxes on investments. Their calculations show that Russia can receive between 90 and 180 billion rubles a year from licensed crypto trading platforms and income tax can bring up to 606 billion rubles.
So far the Russian government is more inclined to prioritize the regulation of cryptocurrencies rather than to impose sanctions in full. The Treasury Department, is expected to present a different regulatory scenario by the end of this week.
