For the past two years, the Russian Federation has been trying to cope with the new regulatory challenges arising from crypto assets such as Bitcoin. Recent comments by a senior official at the Russian central bank indicate that the government is taking a restrictive course.
According to an interview conducted by Alexey Guznov, head of the legal department of the Central Bank of Russia, with the Interfax news agency, progress is being made on crypto-regulation in Russia. According to this, the "draft law on digital financial assets" is about to be passed. However, Russian Bitcoin friends are likely to find Guznov's latest statements nauseating. Contrary to a previously liberal direction, the draft now takes on a much more restrictive character.
In the interview, the central bank employee even brings a general ban on crypto currencies such as Bitcoin into play. The interview states that he is "against allowing institutions to put crypto-currencies into circulation and organize their production (mining). The reason for this is insurmountable problems for financial stability and consumer protection:
We believe that legalizing crypto-currencies carries great risks. We believe that the legalisation of crypto-currencies carries great risks, both from the point of view of financial stability and the fight against money laundering, as well as from the point of view of consumer protection.
Possible ban on Exchanges
In the interview Guznov became remarkably concrete. For example, he sees limits to the enforceability of Russian law in terms of consumer protection, such as when Bitcoin assets have to be divided between ex-spouses in the course of a divorce. The party in possession of the private keys could simply refuse to hand them over.
As a decentralized system, Bitcoin is certainly not easy to ban. Therefore, the central bank apparently focuses its recommendations on institutions that trade in crypto-currencies. However, Guznov left open whether this implies a general ban on Bitcoin exchanges.
If a person who owns Bitcoins, for example, enters into a transaction in a jurisdiction that does not prohibit it, it is unlikely that we will be able to resolve this,
it is said on the part of the interviewee.
Uncertain implementation
The latest developments in the causa Russian Bitcoin regulation follow a zigzag course of the legislators that has already lasted for months. As early as January 2018, President Putin called for the drafting of a corresponding bill. Since then, however, the Duma has postponed the implementation twice. The obvious disagreement between the Russian Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank also plays a role here. While the ministry is insisting on permission from Bitcoin & Co., the central bank, recently prominently articulated by Guznov, is demanding a general ban.
