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The meeting was attended by representatives of legislative and executive bodies, business, the IT industry and the legal community.

Opening the discussion, Presidential Adviser German Klimenko said that the main goal of the meeting is to find ways of bridging the gaps between various positions on the legal regulation of cryptocurrencies in Russia. He urged the participants to engage in active, regular discussions of these issues at different venues.

Head of the State Duma Committee on the Financial Market Anatoly Aksakov informed the participants that in February 2018 the committee will start discussing legislative initiatives on cryptocurrencies, which are now being drafted by experts, the Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank.

Presidential Adviser Sergei Glazyev called cryptocurrencies “an objective requirement” due to sanctions. He said it was possible to use them to bypass external restrictions. “There is an objective requirement for this instrument because many banks have been subjected to sanctions. This instrument suits us very well in the types of activities that are sensitive for the state. They allow us to settle accounts with our contractors all over the world despite sanctions.” Apart from this, he emphasised the need to create a national cryptocurrency.

The meeting was also attended by representative of the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Ilya Zubkov. He noted that the notion of “virtual money” or “virtual property rights” should be introduced into the Civil Code to lay the foundation for the development of legislation and the regulation of cryptocurrencies.

During the meeting Head of the Legal Committee of the Russian Association of Cryptocurrencies and Blockchain (RACIB) Yelena Gultyayeva presented a report on the preparation of a glossary on cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology. The work of the RACIB Legal Committee will primarily concern the general regulation of the institute of collective financing, which will ensure the transparency and efficiency of crowdinvesting and enhance the security of crowdfunding participants. The law will contain requirements for the identification of participants, impose restrictions on the amount of funds raised and define key terms, such as a “token,” “smart contract” and a “distributed database.”