The Bank of Russia proposed to introduce a ban on the issuance, circulation and exchange of cryptocurrencies, as well as the organization of such operations in the territory of the Russian Federation. This is stated in the published regulator report “Risks of Cryptocurrencies and Possible Regulatory Measures”.
How stated Director of the Financial Stability Department of the Bank of Russia Elizaveta Danilova during the presentation of the report, the growing popularity of cryptocurrencies in the Russian Federation carries risks associated with the welfare of citizens, financial stability and the use of digital assets in illegal activities.
According to her, monitoring alone is not enough and it is necessary to move on to regulatory measures.
The Central Bank believes that the rise in the price of cryptocurrencies primarily determines the hype and speculative demand, which leads to the formation of a bubble.
Vladimir Chistyukhin, Deputy Chairman of the Bank of Russia, announced the preparation of the document in December 2021. Then he clarified that the regulator “does not see a place for cryptocurrency in the Russian financial market.”
Earlier on January 20, Bloomberg, citing two unnamed sources, reported that the FSB convinced the head of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, Elvira Nabiullina, to support a complete ban on operations with cryptocurrencies in Russia. According to the publication, in this way the authorities intend to deprive the opposition and media-foreign agents of access to funding.
Prior to this, there were also reports in the media about the plans of the Central Bank to ban investments in crypto assets due to financial stability risks.
Recall that at the end of 2021, the regulator for the first time sent requests to banks regarding cooperation with crypto exchangers in terms of P2P payments, including to cards of nominees.
