TL;DR Breakdown
- Russia finance minister states that there is no plan to ban Bitcoin.
- Maintains that crypto as a means of payment is illegal in the country.
- Billionaire wants country to make Bitcoin a legal tender like El Salvador.
Russia has followed in the step of the United States of America to assert that they also have no plans whatsoever to place a ban on Bitcoin.
Alexey Moiseev, Russia’s Deputy Finance Minister, made the assertion noting that citizens can purchase digital assets on foreign trading venues.
Local report reveals that the Deputy Finance Minister said the Russian Federation has no plans to impose a complete crackdown on trading with cryptocurrencies on foreign platforms, the way China did.
“At the same time, citizens can buy (cryptocurrencies) and use wallets outside the country. So it will remain so, I think. There are no plans to change something.”
The minister, however, noted that the government would not change its stance towards digital assets as a means of payment as using crypto as a payment means in Russia remains illegal. While speaking previously, the minister said that allowing crypto payments could lead to loss of control over money supply and insisted the matter comes down to financial sovereignty.
Finally, the deputy finance minister went contrary to many Russian politicians who criticized the cryptocurrency industry and everything connected to it. Moiseev believes blockchain technology could be a part of the future financial network.
Stakeholders in Russia debate on cryptocurrencies
It is worth noting that most of the politicians in the country are against Bitcoin and crypto. Only a few of them are in support of the digital asset.
In the past, Elvira Nabiullina, Governor of Russia’s Central Bank, said that investing in digital assets is the most dangerous investment strategy. She warned investors to beware of the risks in the crypto market. Nabiulina opined that digital assets are very volatile and warned investors to be wary of” appalling” losses.
The Bank’s deputy governor and second to Nabiulina backed her point, stating that dealing with bitcoin equals the risks of entering a minefield.
Speaking in favor of Bitcoin is Oleg Deripaska, a Russian billionaire who criticized the central bank crypto stance. He opined that the country should not renounce bitcoin but add it as a payment method, giving an example with El Salvador.
The billionaire states that doing so could make business deals with the rest of the world more effectively owing to cryptos borderless characteristics.
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