TechFlow news, July 17, according to Bits.media, Anatoly Aksakov, Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Financial Markets, stated that the second and third readings of the bill on criminal liability for illegal cryptocurrency transactions will be postponed for deliberation by the new State Duma. The reason is that the Duma's spring session will end on July 27, August to September is the election recess, and Duma election voting will end on September 20; therefore, deliberation will resume at the earliest during the autumn session. The bill completed its first reading in early July; organizing illegal cryptocurrency circulation may be punished with up to 7 years in prison, and relevant penalty clauses are scheduled to officially take effect from July 1, 2027.
Under the current regulatory framework, Russian citizens can only buy and sell cryptocurrencies through institutions holding licenses from the Central Bank of Russia, and P2P and over-the-counter transactions may face criminal liability. Aksakov denied concerns that the bill would affect cryptocurrency exchangers and P2P users, calling such concerns "unfounded". Meanwhile, another Russian government bill strengthening state control over cryptocurrencies, the "Law on Digital Currency and Digital Rights," has also been postponed, and the original schedule for it to take effect in July and September has failed.
