In comments that come as a surprise, the Russian official in charge of financial policy has suggested that Russia may be relaxing its hostility toward cryptocurrency. Ivan Chebeskov, a senior official within the Ministry of Finance, has declared his support for crypto regulation rather than outright prohibition.
Chebeskov from the Russian finance ministry has called for cryptocurrency regulation, not prohibition
Russia’s central bank has threatened to ban crypto mining and trade recently, which is why he is gaining so much support.
Chebeskov explains that restricting cryptocurrency operations and mining would result in the country falling behind other nations in the IT sector. Instead, he suggested that cryptocurrencies should be controlled:
“We need to give these technologies the opportunity to develop. In this regard, the Ministry of Finance is actively involved in the development of legislative initiatives in terms of regulating this market.”
During the RBC crypto conference on Tuesday, Chebeskov stated that the Russian ministry has prepared a regulation of cryptocurrencies proposal and is waiting to hear the government’s position on it.
Previously, Chebeskov worked at a number of Russian and European investment banks. He believes that a digital rouble could compete with China’s central bank cryptocurrency.
Meanwhile, the business sector was also quick to reject the plan, which would ban cryptocurrencies’ issuing, trading, and circulation in Russia.
For example, The CEO of Telegram, Pavel Durov stated that:
“Such a ban will inevitably slow down the development of blockchain technologies in general. These technologies improve the efficiency and safety of many human activities, from finance to the arts.”
In neighboring countries, anti-crypto practices are also widespread. Georgian citizens were forced to take an oath to cease mining cryptocurrency, whereas the internet was shut down in Kazakhstan, which is a top Bitcoin (BTC) mining country.
In light of El Salvador’s recent state visit to Moscow, and crypto supporters like Chebeskov gaining influence in the Kremlin, Russia may surprise the cryptocurrency sector in 2022.
