Alexander Shokhin: Legalising Mining as Entrepreneurial Activity Is Crucial
Professor Alexander Shokhin, President of HSE University and the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RUIE), participated in the Digital Security Law Forum at MGIMO University. He discussed the integration of digital finance and digital financial assets into the country's economic landscape and advocated for the legalisation of cryptocurrency mining as a form of entrepreneurial activity.
Addressing the plenary session 'Legal Security of Digital Finance,' Alexander Shokhin pointed out that digital finance is a highly significant domain for business and encompasses tools and technologies of current interest, such as digital financial assets (DFA), utilitarian digital rights, hybrid digital rights, digital currencies, distributed ledger systems, and beyond. In the present political and economic situation, digital finance stands out as a tool for quickly and easily attracting investments.
According to the HSE President, expert contributions have been solicited by the RUIE to compile consolidated proposals from the business community, and the Coordination Council for Digitalisation as well as a working group on mining have been launched. As a result of these efforts, a legislative framework has been established for Digital Financial Assets (DFAs), along with a specialised taxation procedure for transactions involving digital assets and hybrid digital rights. More recently, amendments to the law on digital financial assets have been introduced to facilitate the use of these instruments in cross-border payments.
According to Shokhin, the Russian market for DFAs has been undergoing intensive development. Specifically, the provision of licenses to information system operators for digital asset issuance has accelerated, recently bringing the total number of such operators to 11.
Regulators, the country's president, and businesses all attach great importance to the topic of central bank digital currencies, including the digital rouble. The option of using central bank digital currencies for international settlements is actually regarded as the primary area for engagement, Shokhin emphasised. He believes that the high level of interest in cryptocurrencies is connected to the shortcomings of the traditional monetary and financial system, as well as the necessity to overcome the monopoly of the dollar. Legalising mining quickly and efficiently as an entrepreneurial activity that generates a product (cryptocurrency for cross-border payments) and contributes tax revenue is crucial, he emphasised. Businesses have been working towards this goal in close collaboration with the legislators, the Ministry of Finance, and the Russian Central Bank.
At the same time, one must not overlook security in the realm of digital finance at the state level, emphasising the imperative to safeguard sovereignty from both technological and infrastructural perspectives. A number of platforms for the issuance of digital assets have been included in the sanctions list. Alexander Shokhin is certain that, on one hand, this indicates that the West perceives digital assets as a threat, and on the other hand, it underscores the necessity of developing and implementing a wide range of measures aimed at safeguarding and advancing Russian financial sector technologies globally.
In conclusion, the HSE President noted that the legislation on DFAs is being developed with active involvement from business. So far, not everything has been implemented, and businesses are more determined than the state to take things forward. Nonetheless, productive joint efforts are ongoing to establish favourable conditions for the advancement of Russia's digital economy.