Russian Regulators Find Common Ground – Although Russian authorities have yet to achieve a complete agreement on the future of cryptocurrencies, all official organizations are united in their desire to prohibit bitcoin payments. Other digital asset transactions will be allowed and controlled, according to Russian business representatives.
The Russian Central Bank, Ministry of Finance, and government have reached an agreement on how to regulate Russia’s crypto area. Following a discussion on digitization, Alexander Shokhin, the head of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP), warned reporters that decentralized digital currencies would not be accepted as a form of payment.
Last month, the Bank of Russia called for a broad ban on cryptocurrency-related activity, including payments, exchange, and mining. Other agencies, like the finance ministry, objected to the hardline policy suggestion, which came up with its own perspective of how cryptocurrencies should be addressed. The federal government, siding with the Treasury Department, approved a scheme that prioritizes regulation over prohibition.
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“It is apparent that both sides in this discussion have gotten closer in general. If we’re talking about bans, it’s more about prohibiting the use of cryptocurrencies as a payment method, while other aspects are regulated,” Shokhin was cited saying by the newspaper Izvestia. Coins can be bought, traded, and sold, according to the government-approved regulatory idea, according to the report.
Vladimir Potanin, president of Nornickel and co-chairman of the RSPP Coordinating Council, said the regulatory authorities are still working out the details of Russia’s crypto framework, but that they all support a ban on the use of bitcoin as legal cash.
According to Forklog, “the corporate community has formed a consensus with the government, the central bank, and parliamentarians that cryptocurrencies are more sophisticated and difficult to regulate than digital financial assets.”
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Russian Regulators Find Common Ground – While the Russian law “On Digital Financial Assets,” which went into effect in January of last year, regulated some areas of the crypto economy, such as token issuance, it left many concerns unanswered. A working group in the State Duma, parliament’s lower chamber, is now drafting legislation to close the gaps.
Based on the finance ministry’s proposals, a new law setting complete restrictions for the circulation of cryptocurrencies in Russia is expected by February 18. Anatoly Aksakov, the chairman of the Financial Market Committee, indicated earlier this week that a draft was already on his desk. Deputies intend to vote on it at the Duma’s spring session.