The Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank are planning to legalize settlements in cryptocurrencies

The Ministry of Finance of Russia and the Central Bank consider it necessary to legalize cross-border payments in cryptocurrencies, Deputy Finance Minister Alexei Moiseev said. Earlier, Mikhail Mishustin took the initiative to introduce digital assets into trading operating procedures.

“As for the regulation of the cryptocurrency market, the difference in approaches remains. But I can say that the Central Bank has rethought (approach.— “b”) given that the situation has changed, and we are rethinking. Because the infrastructure that we plan to create is too rigid for the use of cryptocurrencies in cross-border settlements, which, of course, we must first of all legalize somehow. On the one hand, to give people the opportunity to do it, on the other hand, to put it under control so that there is no laundering, paying for drugs, and so on, ”said Mr. Moiseev in an interview with the Rossiya 24 TV channel (quoted by TASS).

According to Mr. Moiseev, the essence of the proposal of the Ministry of Finance is that people have access to crypto-wallets, similar to those that are now being opened on the Internet. “Now people are opening crypto wallets outside the Russian Federation. It is necessary that this can be done in Russia, that this is done by subjects supervised by the Central Bank, which are required to comply with the requirements of anti-money laundering legislation, and first of all, of course, to know their client, ”he specified.

During the interview, Mr. Moiseev also emphasized that at the moment there is no alternative to the Russian stock market for those who want to make long-term investments while living in Russia. He is absolutely sure that, despite international sanctions, Russian stock indices will rise.

At the beginning of the year, the Central Bank spoke for the prohibition in Russia of the issuance of crypto-currencies, as well as their use as investments. Later the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation introduced to the government a bill on the regulation of cryptocurrencies, according to which their use as a means of payment in the territory of the Russian Federation is still prohibited, but they can be considered as an investment tool. According to the head of the Central Bank Elvira Nabiullina, cryptocurrencies can to be used in international settlements, but they should not penetrate into organized trading within the country. According to her, cryptocurrency should not be allowed to trade because of its volatility.

August 30 Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin proposed implement digital assets to pay for imports and exports. According to Mr. Mishustin, this will be a safe alternative for all parties. However, it was not specified which assets could be used for these transactions.

More details – in the material “Kommersant FM” “Digital Assets Are Coming to Payments”.

Milena Kostereva