Crypto Is Still Not Regulated In Russia: Will This Change Soon?

The world of crypto is still not accepted by official regulators in the largest country on the European continent. We are talking about Russia and Russian crypto users, who have been operating in a regulatory gray zone. They could be soon at risk as the nation’s financial authorities reportedly join forces to outlaw the use of digital assets as their payment instrument.

Shortly after this, the country’s interior ministry confirmed the rumors that it was on track to develop a legal framework for confiscating digital assets. This could come into effect as soon as 2021. As the ministry and the head of Russian’s main financial intelligence agency (The Federal Financial Monitoring Service) noted, there have been unfavorable things before the parliament about the prospects of legalizing the use of cryptocurrencies.

The latest cryptocurrencies news make many traders ask themselves if these moves signify a wider government clampdown on digital finance – or if the Russian crypto community perceives them as a threat?

According to one local publication named Izvestia and its reports citing anonymous sources on November 29, the Central Bank of Russia and the Federal Financial Monitoring Service were drafting legislation to ban the use of crypto assets for the purchase of goods and services.

The central bank recently responded to one Bitcoin news portal and detailed its stance on cryptos as well as its willingness to support initiatives seeking to ban their use. As they noted, crypto is still not regulated and “the ruble is the only legal tender in Russia.”

“We remain convinced that cryptocurrencies pose significant risks, including laundering of illegally gained funds, financing of terrorism, and extreme volatility of exchange rates. We believe that private cryptocurrencies cannot be equated to fiat money nor considered legal tender. Should there emerge a legislative initiative to ban cryptocurrencies as means of payment, we deem it appropriate to support it.”

As in many other countries, Russian legislators have been struggling to define the legal status of cryptocurrency and digital assets since 2017, when the first bill to that end was officially drafted. Izvestia’s reports note that associations have petitioned for crypto legislation and made many attempts in that direction – but all of the pushes have seen little success so far.