Crypto Payments Possible if They Don’t Penetrate Russia’s Financial System, Central Bank Says

Cryptocurrencies can be used for international payments if they don’t penetrate the Russian financial system, the head of Bank of Russia has stated. The governor also insisted that the digital assets should not be traded on platforms operating inside the country.

Bank of Russia Chair Ready to Accept Cryptocurrency Payments for International Settlements

Cryptocurrencies can be employed in international payments if they do not “penetrate” the financial system of the Russian Federation, according to Elvira Nabiullina, governor of the Central Bank of Russia (CBR). The official added that these digital assets are subject to high price fluctuations and emphasized:

Cryptocurrency should not be traded on organized marketplaces because this asset is too volatile, too risky for potential investors.

Quoted by RBC Crypto, the banker said that digital coins listed on Russian exchanges must be compliant with all regulations designed to protect investors. Hence, the projects behind the traded assets should have a prospectus, a responsible person, and meet information disclosure requirements.

Nabiullina’s statement comes after last month when her deputy, Ksenia Yudaeva, announced that the CBR is not against the use of decentralized digital assets in “international transactions and the international financial infrastructure,” signaling a softening of the regulator’s stance on crypto payments amid expanding financial sanctions on Russia.

A provision allowing crypto payments in foreign trade has since been added to a new draft law, expected to comprehensively regulate Russia’s crypto sector. The bill “On Digital Currency” is likely to be filed with the State Duma in September, the head of the house’s Financial Market Committee Anatoly Aksakov revealed this week.

The legislation has been delayed by the ongoing debate on the future of cryptocurrencies in the Russian Federation, which led to multiple revisions in the past few months since it was submitted by the Ministry of Finance in February. Aksakov told the daily Izvestia that lawmakers are now leaning towards stricter rules for the crypto market.

Do you think Russia will employ cryptocurrencies for international payments? Share your expectations in the comments section below.

Lubomir Tassev

Lubomir Tassev is a journalist from tech-savvy Eastern Europe who likes Hitchens’s quote: “Being a writer is what I am, rather than what I do.” Besides crypto, blockchain and fintech, international politics and economics are two other sources of inspiration.

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