Central Bank of Russia Agrees to Review Crypto Laws

Russia’s central bank is open to permitting the use of cryptocurrency for foreign payments, signaling a possible softening of its stance on digital currencies.

Cryptocurrency for Foreign Payments. 

A top bank official said on Tuesday that Russia’s central bank is open to allowing cryptocurrency to be used for foreign payments, indicating that the country’s stance on digital currencies may be softening.

“In principle, we do not object to the use of cryptocurrency in international transactions,” the central bank’s First Deputy Governor Ksenia Yudaeva said in a briefing with some reporters.

However, Yudaeva stressed that the bank, as the governing authority, continues to view the widespread usage of bitcoin as a financial threat in Russia.

Yudeva said that the country still believes that the active use of cryptocurrency within the country, especially within Russia’s financial infrastructure, creates great risks for citizens and users. She believes that in the country those risks could be reasonably large.

The bank official’s statement, which came in the middle of news regarding domestic bank regulation, appears to be a concession to legislators working on a new version of the “On Digital Currency” bill. The Finance Ministry introduced the draft bill at a meeting organized by the United Russia Party on Frida, according to the business newspaper Vedomosti. 

At that time, Anton Gorelkin, a member of the Russian parliament’s lower chamber, the State Duma, emphasized the need for the central bank to intervene. The draft has already taken into account the input of some governmental organizations and ministries. 

The section allowing foreign cryptocurrency transactions is a new addition to the statute. It was a matter of expediency to incorporate it into the current statute, according to the Economic Development Ministry.

Going Forward 

Russian officials are debating how to regulate the crypto market and the use of digital currencies in the country, with the central bank earlier advocating for a blanket ban.

Months of discussions have gone on, but no agreement has been achieved among various government departments and parliamentarians.

Allowing cryptocurrency to be used to settle international payments, the finance ministry said last week, would help Russia counter the impact of Western sanctions imposed since Moscow sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine, which have cut several Russian banks off from the global financial network. 

Overall threats to Russian financial stability as a result of Western sanctions imposed on Russian lenders, according to Yudaeva, have decreased because banks now have enough foreign currency liquidity.