Russian law currently bans the issue of any currency not approved by the Central Bank of Russia.
"Russia should have the most free system for blockchain operation, which is also rational in terms of the country's interests, so that it is as legal as possible and so our cryptocurrency legislation is all prescribed," Titov, who also heads Russia's pro-business Party of Growth, said at a press conference.
Bitcoin funds offer an opportunity to skip the banking middle-men, he stressed, outlining the possibilities the funds offer to Russian banks, which are currently restricted by economic sanctions imposed against Russia by the United States and the European Union over the crisis in Ukraine. The cryptocurrency is self-regulating, enabling banks that utilize Bitcoin funds in cuttin the US dollar out of transactions restricted by sanctions, he emphasized.
"Today, we want to create a law on the use of blockchain, which presumes legalizing mining, with licensed mining for large-scale operations subsequently being introduced," Titov said, referring to the Party of Growth platform.
Cryptocurrencies have no material form and global currency regulation does not apply. An unlimited number of anonymous sources could issue and use the currency. Russian authorities have treated the phenomenon with caution, while Russia's Central Bank has received a number of proposals for creating a Russian national cryptocurrency.
