Bitcoin Can't Be Used for Payments - 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 industry groups.

The Russian Central Bank and the Ministry of Finance have agreed to prohibit cryptocurrency payments.

The Russian Central Bank, Ministry of Finance, and government have reached an agreement on how to manage Russia's crypto area. Following a discussion on digitization, Alexander Shokhin, the chairman of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP), warned reporters that decentralized digital currencies would not be recognized 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 tough 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.

"It is apparent that both sides in this debate have become closer in general. If we're talking about bans, it's more about prohibiting the use of cryptocurrencies as a method of payment, while other elements are regulated," Shokhin was cited as saying by the newspaper Izvestia. Coins can be bought, traded, and sold, according to the government-approved regulatory idea, according to the article.

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 prohibition 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."

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 unresolved. A working committee in the State Duma, parliament's lower chamber, is now drafting legislation to close the loopholes.

Based on the finance ministry's ideas, a new law setting complete restrictions for the circulation of cryptocurrencies in Russia is anticipated by February 18. Anatoly Aksakov, the head 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.

Share: