Russia’s Ministry of Economic Development has reacted negatively to the bill to ban cash equivalents, including electronic money, such as bitcoins. It said the proposed ban could hit major telecom operators, retailers and banks hard.
The Ministry of Finance has developed a draft law on the introduction of responsibility for handling cash equivalents after President Vladimir Putin’s request in March. In the law “On the Central Bank” the Ministry is proposing to define quasi-money as monetary units and objects of property rights not provided for by the law. It would include those in electronic form, used as a means of payment and (or) exchange.