While Russia continues to enforce a ban on cryptocurrency payments as part of a law that went into effect in January, the country has no plans to ban citizens’ transactions at this time completely. This means Russian crypto traders can rest assured that the government won’t ban foreign crypto exchanges.
Russia doesn’t plan to follow in China’s footsteps by banning crypto outright
According to the local news Interfax, Alexei Moiseev, Deputy Finance Minister of the Russian Federation, said he believes Russian citizens will continue to buy and use cryptocurrencies outside the country on foreign exchanges without the threat of lawsuits. Cryptocurrency payments in the country are currently banned, but Russians have been allowed to buy and trade cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin.
Russia’s Deputy Finance Minister Alexei Moiseev
“Now, I can only say that we have payments in cryptocurrency on the territory of the Russian Federation. At the same time, citizens can buy and use wallets outside Russia. So it will remain so, I think. He stated that there are no plans yet to change something”, he stated and also stressed that the ban on cryptocurrency payments would remain in place.
In July 2020, Russia passed a law to determine the legal status of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. The bill also bans the use of digital assets to make payments.
Moiseev added that lawmakers still need to define digital currencies and blockchain in Russia properly. The government stated that accepting Bitcoin as an official currency could negatively impact the country’s financial and economic system.
Unlike China, Russia decided to make the crypto market easier. Although Russia is not ready to recognize Bitcoin as legal tender, it is more or less an anti-crypto policy. Recently, as AZCoin News reported, the People’s Bank of China stated that all cryptocurrency transactions are illegal. Before that, miners in several provinces fled in the face of a crackdown on their operations.
Meanwhile, several European countries and the United States are partially lifting restrictions on cryptocurrencies as a financial instrument. In particular, in Sweden, the use of cryptocurrency is authorized by the authorities, while its purchase is considered a transaction with property and is subject to anti-money laundering laws.
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