The domestic economy in 2018 may lose $ 1-1.5 billion, which will attract projects with Russian roots to ICO, the Russian Association of cryptocurrency and blockchain (RAKIB) calculated. To save money in the economy, RAKIB proposes to accelerate the legalization of these technologies. This will not stop the withdrawal of funds, market participants believe, entrepreneurs will continue to seek countries with preferential terms and predictable regulation.
In 2018, the Russian economy may lose $ 1-1.5 billion, which will attract ICO (Initial Coin Offering — a form of attracting investments on the basis of cryptocurrencies) projects with Russian roots, follows from the draft report (there is a “Kommersant”), preparing RAKIB. Rakib plans to send A report on measures "to achieve Russia's leading position in the field of blockchain technologies" to Russian President Vladimir Putin before July 1. It will be presented to the President by the head of the Council RAKIB German Klimenko during a special meeting, the Association said.
"The role of Russian - speaking people is very significant in the world of crypto-currencies", - Arkady Dvorkovich, Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, in January 2017
Now the funds raised through the ICO are redirected to other jurisdictions and bypass the Russian economy by the party, state to RAKIB. The Russian projects account for about 10% of the world market of ICO, which in 2018 will reach $10-15 billion In 2017 the share of funds attracted by Russian projects amounted to 10% of the total global turnover of tokens, exceeding the $310 million estimated By RAKIB, now in Russia more than 75 thousand mining enterprises, more than 50 thousand blockchain developers, and the Economics involved 2.5 million people, including holders of the cryptocurrency miners and the team that organizes the ICO projects.
In November, RAKIB estimated the losses of the Russian economy from the lack of legislation in the ICO sector since the beginning of 2017 at 18 billion rubles.
The draft report notes that the spirit of the President's instructions and public statements does not contain aggressive taboo rhetoric regarding digital investments and assets, while the draft documents and statements of officials say that the government, the Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank "are primarily concerned about the social component of the cryptocurrency problem, protection against possible risks and losses."
On March 20, a group of deputies and senators headed by the Chairman of the Committee of the lower chamber on the financial market Anatoly Aksakov introduced the draft law on digital financial assets to the state Duma. The document provides for only one type of transaction — the exchange of tokens for rubles or foreign currency. At the same time, all transactions must be carried out through special operators. In RAKIB criticized the initiative, noting that it will create benefits for foreign investors.
Investors and representatives of the crypto community will continue to look for jurisdictions with the most comfortable conditions, which will lead to another wave of outflow of high-tech specialists, agreed co-founder and General partner of the Starta Ventures group Alexey Girin. Legislative regulation of ICO in Russia is not in the key in which the industry needs it, confirms the head of ANO "robot Law" Nikita Kulikov. "So far, the initiatives are aimed not so much to consolidate the concepts of ICO and blockchain technologies in the legal field, as to obligate to pay taxes on these activities," he notes.
But legislative measures are not strongly inhibit the development of blockchain-segment of Russia, the managing partner of the ICONIC Sergei Kubanets, and so the country has already entered the top-5 countries by number of implemented projects on the basis of the blockchain. The question in another, he believes, " if the team raised money in Russia, will it remain and will it spend it here?"The vast majority of projects with Russian roots are registered in the offshore or jurisdictions of those countries that have introduced preferential conditions for such activities for foreigners— Singapore, Cyprus, Estonia, adds Nikita Kulikov. In other words, the country's economy now "loses nothing, but does not acquire" from such projects.
"I know of intelligent entrepreneurs who, having made krausel (pre-selling cryptocurrency tokens.- "Kommersant"), collect money for a legal entity registered in Russia " — categorical co-founder of ModernToken Alexander Garkusha. As a rule, people opt either for countries with a serial controller — Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Singapore, or in countries where the regulator "keeps quiet", and it's all offshore jurisdictions, he says. The position of the Russian agencies in this area has changed too many times to believe that it will not change again, concludes Mr. Garkusha.