Russia bans payments from crypto currency
Crypto will be permitted in Russia, though they will not be permitted to be used in exchange for any goods or services. There may be more regulation coming in upcoming sessions, but as of now, it seems that Russians can mine, trade cryptocurrencies for other cryptocurrencies on exchanges, and own cryptocurrencies without any legal issues — so long as they don’t spend it on other goods and services within the domestic economy.
The Russian central bank describes the reasons for its direction. According to the bank, digital assets and crypto currencies exchanges have several issues, including law-related risks, low liquidity, obscure price discovery, as well as high volatility. As a result, buying monetary instruments linked to such assets will be highly risky and can cause great losses to people with little knowledge and experience in investment.
The latest progress by the Bank of Russia is another sign that it’s not ready to hold cryptocurrency. However, it still wants the development and growth of central bank digital assets. Russia is not alone when it comes to companies against crypto currencies but in support. China, which is leading the chase in CBDC, recently placed a strict ban on crypto miners.
Russian banks will be allowed to open up cryptocurrency exchanges under the administration of the central bank — and new digital currencies can be issued, but only again, under the control of the central bank. This represents a more free and easy attitude than what some had predicted would be a near-total ban on cryptocurrency activity in Russia, and shows a more pragmatic attitude towards crypto currencies and their adoption in Russia.
