Russia Moves to Regulate Virtual Currency

By Sam Willie

Russia’s Finance Ministry has drafted legislation to regulate the use of virtual currencies, like Bitcoin, through fines. Bloomberg reports that individuals could be fined up to 50,000 rubles ($1,250), public officials up to 100,000 rubles, and businesses as much as 1 million rubles. Despite much international concern over the potential for criminal misuse of digital currencies and the undermining of hard currencies, very few countries have taken action to regulate them.