Putin gives green light to issue national currency

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered a national digital currency, boosting Russia's position in e-commerce, Russian Communications Minister Nikolai Nikiforov said.

The government will manage the issuance of the entire digital currency and will impose a number of rules. The minister said that once the digital currency or so-called "cryptoroble" was issued, other digital currencies such as the "Petcuen" would be banned.

No time frame has been announced for this currency, but Nikiforov stressed that Russia can not afford to wait, and explained that if the process is not accelerated, the neighbors in Asia and Europe will move faster

The Russian minister said that taxes would be imposed on all financial operations, involving the digital currency. He also did not rule out the issue of the exchange of digital currency with traditional funds, but it will be for those concerned to prove the origin of these digital currencies, to avoid paying a tax of 13%, as part of efforts to combat money laundering and address fraud.

Russia has changed its stance on digital currencies, initially planning to ban the use of these currencies, but is working on many laws and regulations that allow the use of digital currency. In early June, the Russian Central Bank announced that it had begun to create a national electronic currency.

Source: Russian agencies