Russia loses 18 billion rubles due to lack of ICO regulation

New research has found that the Russian economy lost out on over 18 billion rubles due to inefficient ICO regulation.
Herman Klimenko, the Russian adviser to the president regarding Internet development, recently confirmed that Russia has lost over 18 billion rubles ($310 million USD) in the cryptocurrency industry in 2017 alone. According to Klimenko, the main factor behind this massive loss is lack of efficient policies regulating how people invest in ICOs.

The figure was calculated by the Russian Association of Blockchain and Cryptocurrency (Rabik). Klimenko announced the establishing of Rabik earlier this year. Rabik was formed in order to provide a platform for users engaged in cryptocurrency activities to connect and discuss the challenges faced by the industry.

According to Klimenko, Rabik has confirmed that the Russian economy was severely impacted by the country’s lack of ICO regulation. The firm calculated that since January 2017, Russia has lost 18 billion rubles. Over 3.5 billion rubles of the lost money was purely lost due to a lack of taxation policies regarding cryptocurrencies. The official explained that the estimates have been calculated between from January 2017 to October 2017. Klimenko continued to emphasize how the lost funds could have benefited Russia.

Currently, there are no regulatory or legislative policies in place that pertains to cryptocurrency or any of its derivatives. However, Russia means to address and rectify this growing concern. In October, President Vladimir Putin facilitated a discussion to address the issue. Following the discussion, Putin ordered the Russian prime minister and central bank to create and implement a regulatory framework by July 2018. The Russian Central Bank issued caution regarding ICOs, whereas the Russian First Deputy Prime Minister, Igor Shuvalov, maintained that regulation will not stifle the industry.

According to the latest estimates, over $2.3 billion has been raised in total using ICOs alone. According to Rabik’s calculations, Russia accounted for $293 million of the total estimate. This means that Russia has doubled in its total token sales within the last year alone.

The media outlet, Rushbase has reported that the largest Russian ICO to date is a project spearheaded by Dmitry Marinichev, a prominent Internet Ombudsman. Marinichev’s ICO, the ERC20 compatible Russian Miner Coin (RMC), has raised over $43.2 million so far.