Russia to Treat Bitcoin as Foreign Currency and Enable Trading

Nearly a week after the proposal of Party of Growth – a political party in Russia which represents the liberal free market economy – to legalize bitcoin, the Russian Ministry of Finance and the country’s lawmakers are set to treat cryptocurrencies including bitcoin as a foreign currency.
Deputy Finance Minister Alexei Moiseev, who featured in an interview hosted by the Russian Newspaper, stated that while cryptocurrency-based business operations are still illegal in Russia, the Ministry of Finance is currently developing a set of regulations to enable purchasing and selling of Bitcoin.
Moiseev said:
“Yes, it’s impossible to issue foreign currency in Russia. But you can buy foreign currency, put it in your pocket and go abroad. Therefore, we are currently working on precise definitions in the bill, so that it will be possible to buy or sell bitcoins.’

This post was published at Coin Telegraph on 2016-07-19.