- Russia to allow the use of crypto as a legal experiment
- An investment tool, but not a payment method
The Russian government is ready to allow the use of crypto in Russia, but only as a payment method for international trade. President Putin considers digital assets to be a way to evade sanctions and create a new economic area that would be independent of the opinion of other countries and aimed exclusively to promote the interests of counterparties instead of politicians.
Russia to allow the use of crypto as a legal experiment
The Central Bank of Russia headed by Elvira Nabiullina is ready to promote allowing the use of digital assets within the country as a legal experiment.
“Transactions via an authorized organization in Russia could be considered as part of a legal experiment, but this requires a relevant law to be adopted,” Elvira Nabiullina said at a press conference of the Central Bank of Russia on December 16.
Currently, however, the Bank of Russia is bound by the latest law which states that crypto cannot be used as legal tender. There is also the critical issue of protecting investors and users, considering the high volatility of digital assets.
Elvira Nabiullina believes that it is most important for crypto to comply with investor protection requirements: have a placement memorandum and a responsible person and comply with KYC/AML principles. Therefore, there can be no decentralization.
An investment tool, but not a payment method
Russian citizens are not formally prohibited to invest in cryptocurrencies and are free to own digital assets. However, Alexey Zabotkin, Deputy Governor of the Bank of Russia, says that the ownership of crypto inevitably leads to it being used to pay for products and services.
“If free circulation of crypto as an investment tool is allowed within the country, it inevitably becomes widespread and is more and more often used as a payment method. This cannot be helped,” Alexey Zabotkin said.
He also added that if such an experiment was implemented, it could only be used to support international trade that currently experiences problems due to sanctions. There are no plans to allow the use of digital assets as a payment method within Russia. One of the reasons is that crypto exchanges are not regulated in the country.
This May, the Central Bank’s First Deputy Governor Ksenia Yudaeva told reporters that the Bank is ready to allow the use of cryptocurrency in international transactions.
President Vladimir Putin criticized the monopoly in the global market of financial payment systems and suggested that an independent blockchain-based network should be established.
