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BRICS countries to set up a working group on legal regulation of crypto currencies

At the moment there are about 3,000 different crypto currencies and there is no common understanding of how to regulate their turnover

MOSCOW, November 30. /TASS/. The participants in the 4th BRICS Legal Forum (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) have agreed to form a working group that will deal with the legal regulation of crypto currencies, Vladimir Gruzdev, Chairman of the board of the Association of Lawyers of Russia, told TASS on the sidelines of the forum on Thursday.

"We are creating an international working group that will develop common approaches to the legal regulation of the digital economy in the BRICS countries," Gruzdev said.

He noted that at the moment there are about 3,000 different crypto currencies and there is no common understanding of how to regulate their turnover. The status of exchanges, where these crypto-currencies are sold and bought, is yet to be defined, he added.

"The question about taxation emerges, it is necessary to define what a crypto currency is. Is it a service, a means of payment, a commodity? Everybody wants to use it, but the legal regime is not clear," he said.

According to Gruzdev, it is assumed that he will lead the working group. This will allow Russia to be "in the forefront of the legal process," he said.

He also said that the initiative to establish an arbitration court of BRICS was supported at the forum. Gruzdev expressed hope that arbitration court will be located in Russia.