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The Central Bank of Russian Federation has reportedly intended to impose a blanket ban on the sector soon, according to its governor, CoinGeek reports.
The country has already banned BTC payments and recently prohibited mutual funds from investing in digital currencies. In a recent press conference, the bank’s governor addressed digital currencies and central bank’s attitude towards the industry, which has been receiving mixed signals from government authorities in the country.
Responding to questions about what the bank’s plan is regarding digital currencies, the former economic advisor to President Vladimir Putin stated that Russia’s attitude towards cryptocurrencies is of skepticism. Related to this are the significant risks for retail investors and the substantial volatility for this type of asset. As with many other banking executives, the central bank’s governor believes that digital currencies are anonymous and this makes them prone to criminal activities.
However, this has been debunked over the years by experts in the field and government organizations, says CoinGeek. With blockchain analytics tools advancing rapidly, companies like Chainalysis and Elliptic are now able to trace transactions on the blockchain easily, leading to a series of arrests globally of those who thought they could hide behind BTC.
The governor believes that cryptocurrencies are opaque in that they are frequently used for illegal operations or criminal nature. Therefore, Russia cannot welcome investments in them. Reportedly, the bank would be seeking to bring down digital currencies in Russia.
As CoinGeek reported, the Bank of Russia is already working on reports which it intends to table before parliament on why it’s crucial to ban digital currencies. This is despite one prominent lawmaker saying that the government is weighing whether legalising and regulating digital currencies would be a better path than banning them. This way, it could collect taxes from the sector.
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