[2016-04-29] Quartz: Russia is considering legislation that would send bitcoin..

[pawel7777]

Russia is considering legislation that would send bitcoin users to jail for up to 7 years

http://qz.com/672780/russia-is-considering-legislation-that-would-send-bitcoin-users-to-jail-for-up-to-7-years/

Are you an avid bitcoin user in Russia? If so, you could end up in jail.

The Russian Finance Ministry is preparing to introduce legislation next month that would fine and jail digital currency users, according to Bloomberg. The legislation, which was amended last month, has multiple tiers of penalties depending on the person’s usage, according to Interfax, a Russian news agency. For regular citizens who casually use bitcoin, the penalty is 500,000 rubles ($7,800 USD) or 4 years in jail; for organized groups, like bitcoin miners who confirm transactions on the network, it’s 1 million rubles ($15,500 USD) or 6 years in prison; executives or managers of financial institutions would face a fine of up to 2.5 million ruble ($38,000 USD) or up to 7 years in jail.
...

That's still less than 10 years for uploading copyright files, proposed in the UK...

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[richardsNY]

These laws that Russia is looking to implement are getting crazier with the day. It's almost laugh worthy. It's that pathetic.

[pawel7777]

These laws that Russia is looking to implement are getting crazier with the day. It's almost laugh worthy. It's that pathetic.

There's one comment on reddit that says it all:

Here's a state that gets bitcoin.

While I obviously disagree with jailing bitcoin users, Russia is at least understanding the significance of bitcoin, and attempting to preserve itself as an authority.

Thankfully, there's nothing that will stop the power of crypto. Pandora's box has been opened and cannot be closed.

Russia takes Bitcoin seriously. This is not a knee-jerk reaction of "we don't know what it is, so lets forbid it", iirc they initially were rather positive towards Bitcoin (few years back).

[yvv]

"we don't know what it is, so lets forbid it"

... and if the thing works, don't touch it. This is true, this inertia is deep inside Russian soul. But, there are many crypto enthusiasts in Russia, including business people who has influence in politics. My prediction, crypto money will be used around the country, although heavily regulated.
 

[richardsNY]

These laws that Russia is looking to implement are getting crazier with the day. It's almost laugh worthy. It's that pathetic.

There's one comment on reddit that says it all:

Here's a state that gets bitcoin.

While I obviously disagree with jailing bitcoin users, Russia is at least understanding the significance of bitcoin, and attempting to preserve itself as an authority.

Thankfully, there's nothing that will stop the power of crypto. Pandora's box has been opened and cannot be closed.

Russia takes Bitcoin seriously. This is not a knee-jerk reaction of "we don't know what it is, so lets forbid it", iirc they initially were rather positive towards Bitcoin (few years back).

I understand that, but they as government have all the best cards in their own hands. If Bitcoin grows too large at some point, they can implement certain (non extreme) laws where Bitcoin usage will slow down. And maybe they can somehow benefit from it. But this is way over the top.

[cpfreeplz]

We already heard...

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1453680.0;topicseen

7 years is probably the 'major crimes' punishment. Someone buying a laptop using bitcoin wouldn't get this I'm sure (although who knows when jail time begins).