The Russian government is considering delaying plans to regulate cryptocurrencies until 2025 due to other priorities held by the country's decision-making bodies.
Anatoly Aksakov, the chairman of the State Duma Committee on Financial Markets, expressed the view that "the legalization of cryptocurrencies in the Russian Federation is only a matter of time." However, he admitted that "appropriate legislative proposals" might not be adopted until between 2024 and 2025, which could be too late for some.
Priority on other fronts
Russia's efforts to regulate cryptocurrencies continue to face challenges. Recently, a representative of the domestic anti-money laundering regulator, Rosfinmonitoring, urged the Kremlin to expedite the cryptocurrency regulation process. Russia also grapples with a decline in its rating of compliance with cryptocurrency regulation by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).
Although the central bank previously proposed a blanket ban on cryptocurrencies, ministries such as energy and finance are leaning towards regulating and taxing cryptocurrencies instead. This situation leads to uncertainty that Russia cannot afford for long, especially as local companies already actively use cryptocurrencies in international trade, and Russian cryptocurrency mining continues to grow despite lacking legal regulation.
While some media outlets report that up to 29% of Russians aged 22 to 44 own cryptocurrencies, the government estimates that about 10% of citizens have cryptocurrency wallets. However, it seems that lawmakers and regulatory bodies prefer to prioritize other projects, such as pilot programs and legislation related to digital financial assets and the digital ruble, which is Russia's central bank digital currency (CBDC).
Despite appearing calm, Aksakov plans to address Russian cryptocurrency regulation in a timely manner. Politicians seem to agree on utilizing blockchain technology, and discussions of banning cryptocurrencies have ceased. Nevertheless, the recent lack of a legal framework for cryptocurrency mining means the state treasury loses "billions of rubles in tax revenue each year."
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