The Russian government “has determined the future of digital currencies in Russia,” an announcement published late Tuesday stated. The authorities have elaborated a plan to integrate the circulation of cryptocurrencies into Russia’s financial system and to establish control over crypto-related flows in the banking system.
Contrasting with the central bank’s recent proposal to impose a ban on crypto trading, investment and mining — but siding with the Finance Ministry’s view on the matter — the Russian government wants to allow crypto platforms to operate under a licensing regime.
To protect the rights of Russian citizens, investors will be divided into qualified and non-qualified classes, while crypto service providers will be obliged to meet certain capital and liquidity requirements. They will also be tasked with informing Russians about relevant risks.
Sources recently quoted by Bloomberg revealed that, according to an estimate the government is now using in the deliberations, Russians own over 16.5 trillion rubles in cryptocurrency (around $215 billion). According to the authors of a policy brief quoted by The Bell, the total of the tax revenues expected from the digital assets industry could potentially reach one trillion rubles a year (around $13 billion), even if Moscow opted for a simplified tax regime.
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