©Reuters. The Russian Government refuses to recognize cryptocurrencies as a means of payment
Moscow, Apr 7 (.).- The Russian government, like the country’s Central Bank, is against recognizing cryptocurrencies as a means of payment, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said Thursday.
“We are against the recognition of cryptocurrencies as a means of settlement or money,” said the head of the Government in the Duma or Lower House during the presentation of the Executive’s annual report.
In his opinion, crypto assets or digital financial assets “are not simple instruments and must be treated with great care.”
“Here we share the position of the Central Bank on this issue and we believe that it should not be allowed,” said Mishustin.
For this reason, he considered that, in any regulation of the circulation of cryptocurrencies, work must be done “seriously” to take into account all the nuances.
He recalled that the concept of regulation of the cryptocurrency market, which was approved by the Government at the beginning of the year, includes a user identification mechanism, the obligation to enter the cryptocurrency markets through banks and exchange houses, and an instrument for traceability of cash flows and transactions.
According to Mishustin, the Russians have already transferred more than 10 billion rubles ($36.363 million) to cryptocurrency wallets.
“We are well aware that today more than 10 million young people have opened cryptocurrency wallets to which significant funds have already been transferred, exceeding, according to various estimates, 10 billion rubles,” he explained.
At the same time, Mishustin admitted the possibility of discussing the development of cryptocurrency mining in the country.
According to the Center for Alternative Finance at the University of Cambridge, the United States currently mines 35.4% of cryptocurrencies globally, followed by Kazakhstan (18.1%) and Russia (11.23%).
“We also think that to stimulate investment, mainly in fixed capital, we can discuss mining issues. This stimulates the creation of data centers and the corresponding infrastructure,” he said.
Russian authorities are currently discussing the future of cryptocurrencies and mining in the country.
The Bank of Russia insisted on a complete ban on cryptocurrencies, considering them a threat to the financial system of the Russian Federation.
The Ministry of Finance for its part believes that the circulation of cryptocurrencies in the country should be regulated and taxed, and not prohibited.
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