Key Takeaways:
- Alexey Moiseev says Russians can buy Bitcoin outside Russia.
- The ban on crypto payments in Russia is still in effect.
- Earlier in September, the acting press secretary for Russian President Vladimir Putin, said Friday that Russia has no reason to acknowledge Bitcoin.
Russian citizens can have a wallet open outside the Russian Federation, Russia does not prohibit the purchase of cryptocurrencies on foreign exchanges.
According to Interfax, the Russian Federation does not plan to follow the footsteps of China by introducing a ban on the purchase of cryptocurrencies on foreign exchange by the citizens.
However, as per the law which took effect in January, the Russian ban on crypto payments within the country are still in practice.
According to a report from a local news agency Interfax on 12 October, Alexey Moiseev the deputy finance minister of the Russian Federation said he believes Russian citizens will continue to be allowed to buy and use cryptocurrencies outside the country on foreign exchanges without the fear of facing consequences of legal action at home. Crypto operations in the country are currently banned, but Russians have been allowed to purchase and trade cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC).
Moiseev said, “Of course, a Russian citizen can have a wallet open outside the Russian Federation, but it is operations within the Russian Federation that they will be subject to bans, I think, for the entire foreseeable future, due to the fact that this is financial sovereignty,“
The deputy finance minister proceeded to claim that laws in both the Russian civil code and special law on cryptocurrency still needs to be worked upon. The government believes accepting crypto could mean the loss of control behind money supply and Russia too could end me in a situation like Sweden where national currencies are not accepted as in numerous organisations.
Russia’s position on crypto is in complete contrast with the Chinese ban in September where financial and regulatory institutions are clearly anti-crypto.
Russia Not ready to Adopt Bitcoin
According to the Russian news agency RIA Novosti, Dmitry Peskov, the acting press secretary for Russian President Vladimir Putin, said Friday that Russia has no reason to acknowledge Bitcoin.
Peskov said the country is “not ready for such moves” in answer to concerns following the passing of El Salvador’s law-making Bitcoin an official tender. In a press statement, Peskov stated that he is not sure that adopting Bitcoin will assist the Russian Federation in any way.
He went on to say that Bitcoin is a “quasi-currency” and that linking it to official fiat monetary instruments would be harmful to the country’s financial system. The Russian Chairman of the State Duma Committee on the Financial Market, however, is not so quick to dismiss Bitcoin altogether.
Antoly Aksakov seeks regulatory clarity on Bitcoin and defines mining as a type of entrepreneurship according to a local news outlet.
On Wednesday, Aksakov commented on the state of Bitcoin mining in Russia:
“Since this is a type of entrepreneurial activity, obviously, it is necessary to enter it into the register, assign a code to it corresponding to it as a type of entrepreneurial activity and introduce taxation,” he said.
Aksakov stated that changes to the Russian digital currency laws should “definitely be expected.”
