Putin orders entire cryptocurrency sector to be regulated where Bitcoin, miners, ICOs, and exchanges are taxed

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As Russia prepares for a new sovereign cryptocurrency known as the CryptoRuble, President Vladimir Putin on Oct. 24 issued a new order regarding the de-centralized or private cryptocurrency sector.  And rather than seek to outlaw or ban Bitcoin, cryptocurrencies, ICOs, miners, and exchanges, his plan is to instead regulate them so that they can be taxed as with any other commodity.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered the government to create laws governing the status of bitcoin, other cryptocurrencies, mining, ICOs, as well as defining everything that relates to digital money by July 2018, according to the Kremlin. 

The miners of bitcoin, ethereum, and other virtual currencies will have to register and pay taxes. 

Putin also wants regulation of ICOs (initial coin offerings), taking as a basis the practice of initial public offerings (IPOs). 

The same position is held by US regulators, In July, the US Securities and Exchange Commission recognized tokens as securities, which means their release must be accompanied by appropriate procedures by qualified investors and registration. Tokens are digital money offered by companies (usually backed by their goods) in exchange for investment. – Russia Today

Interestingly, it appears that only a few nations may actually seek to try to ban or outlaw private cryptocurrencies outright, and instead the trend appears to be one where governments will impose the same strict regulatory constructs they would any asset traded on an exchange or in a market.