Central Bank Of Russia Bans Cryptocurrency Payments

Russia bans crypto as a means of payment. (Newdaycrypto)

JAKARTA – The Russian government together with the Central Bank and the Ministry of Finance held a meeting to discuss crypto regulations. From the results of the meeting, it was decided that decentralized digital currencies, either Bitcoin etc, and stablecoins would not be accepted as a means of payment in Russia.

This was conveyed by the head of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP) Alexander Shokhin to reporters after attending a meeting on the digitization of money as reported by Bitcoin.com News.

Last month, the Russian Central Bank urged the government to ban crypto activities broadly, including bans on cryptocurrencies as a means of payment, crypto exchanges, and mining.

However, this insistence is opposed by the Russian Ministry of Finance, which has its own vision of how cryptocurrencies should be treated. In this regard, the Ministry of Finance has the support of the federal government which is more interested in regulating crypto than banning it.

"It's clear that the two sides in these discussions are generally getting closer. In particular, if we talk about a ban, then it is more about a ban on the use of cryptocurrencies as a means of payment, while other aspects are subject to regulations," Shokhin said as quoted by Izvestia. A government-approved regulatory concept, cryptocurrencies can be bought, exchanged, and sold, according to the report.

Vladimir Potanin, deputy chairman of the RSPP Coordinating Council and president of Nornickel, noted that the regulatory body is still seeking agreement on the details of the crypto framework in Russia. In addition, he also emphasized that all of them support the prohibition of using cryptocurrencies as legal tender.

“The business community has come to an agreement with governments, central banks, and lawmakers that cryptocurrencies are more complex and difficult to regulate than digital financial assets,” the billionaire explained, as quoted by Forklog.

Previously, the government was working on laws regarding the crypto economy such as the issuance of tokens in “About Digital Financial Assets” which came into force in January last year. However, this still leaves many unanswered questions. The government is currently planning to introduce more comprehensive rules for crypto circulation in Russia which is expected to start on February 18, 2022.