The cryptocurrency situation in Russia has always raised a lot of questions which can’t be answered. Whether crypto trading will be officially allowed or subject to jail time remains to be determined at this point. Russian media sources claim the Ministry of Finance has drafted a new bill to legalize cryptocurrency trading on organized trading platforms. It’s a rather interesting development, although this proposal will still need to be approved first.
Another Bitcoin Plot Twist in Russia
Over the past few months, we have seen multiple stories regarding the future of cryptocurrency in Russia. It is obvious most government officials do not see eye to eye on this topic. Proposals have ranged from legalizing cryptocurrency to only allowing trading by accredited investors, and even putting exchange operators behind bars for multiple years. It is evident this topic is very controversial in Russia, and there is no official indication as to what the future may hold. Rest assured this is not the last time this topic will be touched upon either.
Earlier this week, Russian news sources claimed the country’s Ministry of Finance had come up with a new approach to tackling cryptocurrencies. In fact, it seems to be the most positive approach regarding this new form of money so far. Do keep in mind this is still merely a proposal and not an official law by any means. Until this new idea receives governmental approval – which seems highly unlikely – the future of cryptocurrency in Russia will remain unclear.
According to reports, the Russian Ministry of Finance is seeking to legalize cryptocurrency trading. The ministry has made reference to “organized trading platforms”, which raises a lot of questions. After all, this seems to indicate that only government-approved exchanges will be used to trade cryptocurrencies. It is unclear if that is actually the case, though, but since no one can answer these questions, speculation will run wild for some time to come. Regardless, it is a rather positive proposal which very few people had expected at this time.
It is not the first time the Ministry of Finance has made an attempt to legalize cryptocurrencies, at least up to a certain degree. Its goal is to see how Bitcoin and other currencies can affect Russia’s economy, without exposing investors to too many risks. Issuing a “pre-approved” list of trading platforms would certainly help achieve both things at the same time. For now, all of this is still in the very early stages of debate, as nothing has been approved just yet.
No one will be surprised to learn the Russian Central Bank isn’t too happy about this development. More specifically, the central bank and Deputy Finance Minister Alexei Moiseyev have both opposed the idea of legalizing cryptocurrency trading. It is this level of friction which makes it very difficult for any cryptocurrency to thrive in Russia. At the same time, Webmoney still uses Bitcoin without any major repercussions. Russia is a very interesting country for cryptocurrency with conflicting opinions regarding this new form of money.
How all of this will play out moving forward is impossible to accurately guess. It seems Russian officials come up with new ways to ban or boost cryptocurrencies every few weeks. While this new proposal is rather positive, it seems highly unlikely it will be approved under existing conditions. Until any of these proposals are turned into law, using and trading cryptocurrency will not be illegal in Russia. It’s also not legal, though, which means users are advised to be cautious when dealing with large amounts of crypto.
