According to a report from the country’s central bank issued on Thursday, Russia should ban cryptocurrencies.
The report titled “Cryptocurrencies: trends, risks, measures,” considers cryptocurrencies volatile and widely used in illegal activities. The report also said that by people taking their money out of the national economy, the country’s financial regulator will have a difficult job of maintaining optimal monetary policies.
Therefore, Russia’s central bank calls for new laws and regulations to completely ban all crypto-related activities. Nevertheless, this excludes a ban on ownership of crypto by private citizens.
The report was made public in an online press conference with Elizaveta Danilova, the director of the Bank of Russia’s Financial Stability Department.
Russian institutional investors should not be allowed to invest in crypto and no Russian financial organizations or infrastructure should facilitate cryptocurrency transactions.
Cryptocurrency mining is also under fire with the central bank’s recent recommendations.
Having flourished in Russia over the past few years, the report notes that mining leads to a fresh supply of cryptocurrencies, which then causes a demand for related services such as exchanges, while the mining itself poses a threat to the country’s energy supply.
The “optimal solution” would therefore also be to ban all crypto mining in Russia, the regulator noted.
The Central bank also informed the public to closely monitor all transactions taking place involving Russian residents.
Looking ahead to the future and commenting the digital ruble, Russia’s central bank digital currency (CBDC), the banks said this will satisfy the need of Russians for fast and cheap digital payment options, hence giving them the benefits of crypto without crypto.
Russia’s financial industry and market participants have until March 1 to comment on the report.
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Source: Igaming
