The Russian central bank continues to maintain an extremely negative stance against cryptocurrencies, proposing to ban local miners from selling coins to the local population.
The Bank of Russia has supported the idea of legalizing cryptocurrency mining in Russia as part of a bill introduced in mid-November 2022.
Nevertheless, the Russian central bank wants to allow miners to sell their cryptocurrencies only on foreign exchanges no longer resident in Russia, local news agency Interfax reported on December 7.
“We believe that the cryptocurrency obtained as a result of mining can be sold exclusively using foreign infrastructure and only to non-residents,” the press office of the Bank of Russia allegedly said, adding:
“In general, we adhere to the position on the inadmissibility of the circulation of digital currency on the territory of the Russian Federation.”
Apparently, the new proposal would raise a lot of questions from miners in Russia, as many foreign cryptocurrency exchanges have banned Russians from using their platforms in compliance with sanctions for Russia’s war in Ukraine. The Bank of Russia has also long been a supporter of allowing residents to trade theironly through foreign exchange platforms.
According to the proposal of the Bank of Russia, miners who want to sell their self-mined cryptocurrencies within Russia will have to conduct the operations through an “authorized organization.”
The news comes shortly after the Russian Finance Ministry opposed the Bank of Russia’s proposal to introduce a strict license for cryptocurrency mining operations in Russia.
On December 6, the Vice Minister of Finance, Alexey Moiseev allegedly said that the Russian central bank has developed a new plan to allow mining only through “authorized organizations.” According to the official, such a move would essentially bring “full license” for cryptocurrency mining. “We are against it,” Moiseev declared.
As previously reported, Russian lawmakers introduced a bill on cryptocurrency mining in the lower house of parliament on November 17. The original version of the bill does not include a ban on the sale of mined cryptocurrencies to residents of Russia. At the same time, the bill does not allow miners to sell their coins anywhere other than on foreign exchanges or through the state-backed platform that is being developed within the experimental legal regime for cryptocurrencies.
The latest news is yet another twist in the long history of discussions around cryptocurrency regulation between the anti-crypto Russian central bank and the more pro-crypto Ministry of Finance. Years of discussions have only contributed to a situation where citizens and Residents of Russia still do not have a clear cryptocurrency framework, while local adoption of digital assets continues to grow.
The Russian bill on crypto mining is one of the most anticipated legal initiatives in the country, along with the initiative of the government of llegalize cryptocurrencies for cross-border payments of imports. According to Anatoly Aksakov, head of the finance committee of the lower house of the Russian parliament, the related amendments are expected to be approved in February 2023.
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