PANews reported on May 21 that according to Bitcoin.com, Russia is vigorously promoting digital asset regulation and plans to introduce a bill to regulate confiscation procedures. At the 13th St. Petersburg International Legal Forum, the Russian Ministry of Justice pointed out in its review of the impact of new technologies on crime that the bill will clarify the procedures and considerations for accelerating the seizure of digital assets.

Deputy Justice Minister Vadim Fedorov said the bill would include digital assets in the category of property that can be seized and confiscated. Taking into account the characteristics of specific digital currencies, it is recommended to formulate special requirements, such as confiscating physical devices such as hardware wallets that store the wallet keys for criminal activities, and requiring the court to issue a trading ban. Fedorov also mentioned that experts will be arranged to participate in the relevant procedures to determine the necessary measures to ensure the security of subsequent confiscation of digital currencies or settlement of victims' claims. However, he also admitted that due to the special custody of digital assets, confiscation is challenging, and its lack of centralized control is attractive to criminals and cannot be physically seized. The measure is mainly aimed at local cryptocurrency threat actors.