The development was disclosed in records from a meeting conducted at the White House in Moscow last week, Bitcoin.com reports citing the Russian business newspaper Kommersant.ru. A clash between two rival views will likely decide the future of cryptocurrencies in Russia. While the Central Bank of Russia suggests a blanket ban on crypto-related activities, the Ministry of Finance is advocating for legalization under strict rules and without acknowledging Bitcoin as a payment method. The latter has received most of the support, and if adopted, will mean that Russians owning digital money will be able to operate with them as with investment assets, such as making transactions through Russian banks, and paying taxes. All that, of course, under the watchful eye of the government. In January, Finbold reported that the Central Bank of Russia proposed that cryptocurrency trading, mining, and usage be totally illegal. However, the Ministry of Finance insists that differentiation between “white” and “black” market activities be made.
Medvedev and Putin interject
The Central Bank of Russia’s recommended ban on cryptocurrency-related activities elicited reactions from the country’s top figureheads, including former president Medvedev and current president Putin. Medvedev maintained that the ban could negatively impact the system, suggesting that banning something often leads to opposite results. President Putin added that the Central Bank could not “stand in our way of technological progress” and should make appropriate efforts to introduce the latest technologies in this area.
Chamber of commerce urges the government to recognize mining as a business
In response to the Ministry of Finance’s plan to elevate crypto-related activities to legal territory, Sergey Katyrin, the chairman of the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, proposed that the legal status of crypto mining be determined as a “kind of business activity, making it possible to exclude this activity from the ‘gray zone,’” guaranteeing tax and other compulsory compensations. Observers will be keeping a close check on the proposed crypto legislation scenarios to see whether they have a positive or negative impact on Russia’s adoption of cryptocurrency.
