TL;DR Breakdown
- Russia has talked down accepting Bitcoin as a legal tender.
- A spokesman for the Kremlin said Bitcoin is detrimental to the financial system.
Following the news on El Salvador Bitcoin legalization, people have been speculating that more countries are likely to follow suit. Russia won’t be one of them. Dmitri Peskov, a spokesman for Moscow Kremlin, said the country isn’t prepared to accept the digital currency as a legal tender, as reported on Tuesday.
Russia rules out accepting Bitcoin
Peskov is of the view that Bitcoin can disrupt the economic system of the country. He warned that it would be detrimental for the Russian financial system if the government moves to accept Bitcoin as a legal tender. “Russia is not prepared for that, and there is no reason to do it,” Peskov.
This is not surprising given that the government of Russia has not always been the friendliest to cryptocurrencies. In June, the central bank governor, Elvira Nabiullina, said that the “speculative crypto-assets” are the most dangerous investment in existence. Earlier this year, the government prohibited civil workers from owning crypto assets.
Bitcoin adoption spreads in Central America
Peskov’s words come amid the development in El Salvador. As Cryptopolitan reported, the Central American nation officially adopted Bitcoin as a legal tender on September 7. This authorizes the freedom to use the cryptocurrency within the country. In addition to that, the government is also HODLing 550 BTC in reserve.
Panama, another country in Central America, is also ready to adopt Bitcoin. On Tuesday, congressman Gabriel Silva revealed they had presented a crypto law to recognize and regulate Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies in the country. According to Silva, crypto has the potential to “create thousands of jobs, attract investment and make the government transparent.”
