Banning Bitcoin in Russia is 'same as banning the internet,' minister says

Published at: Feb. 16, 2022

Banning cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) is impossible, Russia’s finance minister Anton Siluanov declared as the Bank of Russia keeps calling on the state to ban crypto in the country.

Placing a ban on crypto in Russia is the “same as banning the internet, which is impossible,” Siluanov declared at the ministry’s briefing with the central bank, Forbes Russia reported Wednesday.

The finance minister reportedly said that starting regulating the cryptocurrency industry as soon as possible is way better than banning it as this would allow the government to finally monitor the market and grow the country's budget using taxes from crypto mining.

“What’s wrong with that, I don’t understand why it should be banned,” Siluanov said at the briefing, adding that there is an easy solution for taxing the market. According to the minister, the government should hold taxes from the realized gains on the amount of deposited and withdrawn fiat assets.

“The Central Bank wants to put an outright ban on crypto assets, arguing that this creates risks, primarily for citizens and can “infect” financial institutions, banks as well as create an opaque settlement market,” Siluanov said.

He added that the finance ministry admits these concerns and thus finds it necessary to limit cryptocurrency exposure by non-professional investors as part of its concept of crypto regulation released in early February. As such, the maximum amount for inexperienced investors can be set within 50,000 Russian rubles ($660) to 100,000 rubles ($1,300), the minister reportedly said. Previously, Siluanov’s deputy Alexei Moiseev suggested limiting such purchases to $660.

The officials did not specify whether the potential limit would refer to monthly investments or any other period. The ministry's press office did not immediately respond to Cointelegraph’s request for comment.

Related: Bank of Russia governor: Banning crypto in Russia is 'quite doable'

In the meantime, the Bank of Russia does not support the idea of letting non-professional investors buy cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin at all, citing common risks like fraud and money laundering. The authority has also been quite hostile to crypto when it comes to mining, warning against fraud mining schemes of "nonexistent cryptocurrencies."

After long years of arguments, the Bank of Russia and the Russian government are expected to finally find a common ground on crypto regulation in the country by this Friday.

Tags
Related Posts
Bank of Russia to assess Bitcoin holdings volumes as $36B leave banks
The central bank of Russia is trying to evaluate the amount of Bitcoin (BTC) held by local investors amid a massive amount of money not returning to banks following the pandemic-fueled withdrawals. According to Elizaveta Danilova, head of the central bank’s financial stability department, the Bank of Russia is polling local cryptocurrency investors to estimate cryptocurrency investment volumes in Russia. “We need to work both on data and raising public awareness about the risks of such investments, which are backed by nothing,” Danilova said in a Reuters interview published on the Bank of Russia’s official website on Thursday. The official …
Bitcoin / Oct. 15, 2021
Too early to talk about using crypto for oil trading, says Putin
Russian President Vladimir Putin believes that it’s “still premature” to use cryptocurrencies for settling trades of energy resources such as oil. The Russian president discussed potential use cases of cryptocurrencies in a Thursday CNBC interview following a plenary session of the Russian Energy Week forum. According to a full interview text published on the Kremlin’s official website, Putin said that private cryptocurrencies “can act as a unit of account,” but they are “very unstable.” “Cryptocurrency oil contracts? It’s too early to talk about it. It works for transferring funds from one place to another, but in terms of trading, especially …
Bitcoin / Oct. 14, 2021
Russian central bank ‘short-sighted’ regarding crypto, lawmaker says
A Russian State Duma member has blasted the central bank’s tough stance on the cryptocurrency industry for ignoring the growing demand for crypto in the country. Fedot Tumusov, a member of the “A Just Russia” party representing the Siberian region of Yakutsk, has criticized the Bank of Russia’s approach to regulating the crypto industry following a Tuesday plenary meeting of the State Duma. In a Tuesday Telegram post, Tumusov outlined the growing need to create an ecosystem that allows Russian residents to purchase cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) amid increasing demand. The official argued that despite Russia enforcing crypto legislation earlier …
Adoption / June 15, 2021
Owner of Russian bank Tinkoff acquires Swiss digital asset firm
TCS Group, the owner of the major private Russian bank Tinkoff, is gaining exposure to digital assets. The firm has invested in Swiss digital asset service provider Aximetria, which is set to become the company’s first major crypto-related outfit, local news agency The Bell reported Wednesday. Citing data from Aximetria, the report suggests that TCS purchased 4,449 Aximetria shares worth 100 Swiss francs ($108) per share. Given that Aximetria’s total share capital was about 535,000 francs ($578,000), the publication reported TCS’ stake to be around 83.2%. A spokesperson for Tinkoff confirmed the news to Cointelegraph, stating that Aximetria will be …
Bitcoin / Jan. 12, 2022
Russia should use crypto for payments with Africa, commerce exec says
An executive at Russia’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry has called on the government to conduct cross-border settlements in cryptocurrencies and central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). Chamber President Sergei Katyrin sent a letter to Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, providing a set of proposals for developing cooperation with African countries, the local state-backed publication TASS reported Thursday. In the letter, Katyrin reportedly advocated the use of CBDCs and cryptocurrencies for mutual settlement and payments as part of Russia’s move into Africa amid Western sanctions, stating: “It seems useful to instruct the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation, together with …
Bitcoin / April 14, 2022