Russia Offers Cryptos Legal Cover as Central Bank Dissents
- Finance Ministry publishes draft bill on cryptocurrencies
- Digital assets won’t be deemed legal means of payment
Red lights illuminate cryptocurrency mining rig units in Moscow.
Photographer: Andrey Rudakov/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Russia’s Finance Ministry published draft legislation to regulate operations using cryptocurrencies, putting it at odds with the central bank’s resistance to allowing their exchange into rubles and other currencies.
Licensed operators would be able to validate conversion of cryptocurrencies into other digital instruments as well as rubles or foreign currencies, according to the bill. Digital assets themselves wouldn’t be deemed as legal means of payment in Russia, while the proposals also set out measures for domestic regulation of initial coin offerings.