Russia’s Finance Ministry proposes to export cryptocurrencies as natural gas-like commodities

The Russian Ministry of Finance has proposed treating cryptocurrency as a product of mining activities for export, in order to place it on an equal footing with traditional export products such as natural gas. Ivan Chebeskov, Deputy Minister of Finance, outlined that the proposed cryptocurrency export regulations will be very similar to natural gas export regulations, enabling miners to sell their digital assets as exportable products. This proposal was made after submitting a bill to the State Duma in November 2022, seeking to legalize BTC mining and establish a sales mechanism. The bill includes provisions prohibiting cryptocurrency advertising and requiring sales to be made through foreign platforms, excluding the use of Russian information infrastructure.