Russian minister excludes possibility of Bitcoin legalization

Maria Nikolova

Russia’s Minister of Communications and Mass Media says that while blockchain has future in Russia, Bitcoin is not set to gain any legal status.

The cryptocurrency climate in Russia continues to worsen with the latest authoritative statement that underlines the harsh negativism towards virtual currencies coming from Nikolai Nikiforov, Minister of Communications and Mass Media. Mr Nikiforov was quoted by information agency Interfax on Monday as making a rather dull forecast about the future of Bitcoin in Russia.

Mr Nikiforov called Bitcoin “some foreign project based on blockchain”. He said that wheres blockchain technologies will find their application in Russia, Bitcoin is not set to attain any legal status.

His skepticism is in line with a recent warning issued by the Central Bank of Russia in which the regulator noted the high risks associated with the use of crypto currencies and said it is premature to allow any financial instruments linked to crypto currencies to the exchanges and regulated markets or the payment structures of the Russian Federation.

And, in October this year, Sergey Shvetsov, First Deputy Governor of the Bank of Russia, said that the central bank and the prosecutors are working together to close the foreign websites that offer Russian residents to buy cryptocurrencies.

Mr Shvetsov also said that all derivative instruments related to cryptocurrencies are seen as negative phenomena by the “Megaregulator”. The central bank is not supporting these instruments and will implement measures to limit all operations with them for the regulated part of the Russian market, he emphasized. He reiterated that these instruments bring very high risks for the Russian citizens and businesses. Moreover, he noted, Bitcoin has become a means for getting artificially high returns for a very short period of time, something that is characteristic of financial pyramids.

The Russian President has also made clear his stance regarding cryptocurrencies. Last month, Vladimir Putin signed a number of orders to the Central Bank of Russia and the Russian government with regard to fintech and cryptocurrencies.

The Government and the Central Bank have until July 1, 2018 to make sure that certain changes are introduced to the Russian legislation. These changes should determine the status of digital technologies used in the financial segment and should cover the associated concepts, including: distributed ledger technologies, cryptocurrency, token and smart-contracts. These changes should reflect the fact that the Russian ruble will remain the single legal payment means in the Russian Federation.

The legislative changes should cover mining and the way this activity should be taxed. The registration and regulation of the entities executing such activities should also be specified in the legislative changes.

Read this next

Digital Assets

Cathie Wood’s sponsored Bitcoin ETF sees historic $200 million inflows

The ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (ARKB), co-sponsored by Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest, registered historic inflows exceeding $200 million on Wednesday, signaling a robust appetite among investors for Bitcoin-centric investments.

Digital Assets

Sam Bankman-Fried might see his 25-year sentence halved

Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of the failed cryptocurrency exchange FTX, was sentenced to 25 years in federal prison by a Manhattan court on Thursday. This comes after he was convicted of defrauding customers and investors, with Judge Lewis Kaplan highlighting the potential future risks posed by Bankman-Fried.

Technical Analysis

EURJPY Technical Analysis Report 28 March, 2024

EURJPY currency pair under the bearish pressure after the pair reversed down from the major resistance level 164.25, which also stopped the sharp weekly uptrend at the end of last year,

Digital Assets

BlockDAG’s Presale Hits $9.9M, MultiversX & MINA Price Predictions Show Green

Read about BlockDAG’s promising $10 prediction and insights on MultiversX Price Prediction as MINA’s potential unfolds.

Digital Assets

Rockstar Co-Founder and All-star Line Up Join Advisory Board to Take Metacade into Post Beta Orbit

Metacade, the revolutionary Web3 gaming platform, prepares to streak out of beta with a slew of ground-breaking initiatives that will redefine the way blockchain games are developed.

Retail FX

Prop firm The Funded Trader shuts down, claims relaunch in April

Prop trading firm The Funded Trader has ceased all operations, with claims for a relaunch in the near future.

Digital Assets

Ethereum-Based Tokenized Real Estate Platform USP Launches On Republic

How This Californian Startup Is Revolutionizing Real Estate Investment through Ethereum-Based Tokenization.

Digital Assets

Sui Spikes in Weekly DEX Volume, Joins Top 10 of All Blockchains

March DEX volume on Sui stands at over $2.88B – up more than 49% from February – with decentralized exchange Cetus and wholesale liquidity layer DeepBook leading.

Digital Assets

Prisma Finance suffers $10 million crypto exploit, attack ongoing

Liquid staking protocol Prisma Finance fell victim to a security exploit on March 28, resulting in nearly $10 million in Prisma mkUSD and wrapped stETH being stolen by hackers.

<