Russia Still Skeptical About Crypto, Denies It Money Status

By Rishma Banerjee

On Thursday, July 25, a panel of Russian officials and experts, discussing on cryptocurrency regulations in the country, decided that there is no reason behind providing them the “money” status, at least in the immediate future.

They mainly had two reasons to come to this conclusion. First of all, the issuance of money other than Ruble is currently considered illegal by the Constitution. Secondly, the financial regulators are confused about the origin of Bitcoin and other altcoins. They are also worried that many cyber criminals make use of these cryptocurrencies.
The press conference centre of the “Parliamentary Newspaper,” an editorial managed by Russia’s Federal Assembly, hosted the event. It was moderated by Senator Lyudmila Bokova, First Deputy Chairman of the Council of Federation Committee on Constitutional Legislation and State Building. She stated:

“I consider it expedient not to force the [regulatory] process, but to analyze the experience of bigger economies. Let’s see how regulation is implemented there and what benefits or damage a country might receive from the introduction of such regulation.”

Some of the guests were Dmitry Zakharov, member of the Commission for the Legal Support of the Digital Economy of the Association of Lawyers of Russia, Mikhail Bykovsky, member of the thematic working group “Fintech” under the Center for Competence on the Digital Economy, and Arseny Poyarkov, Vice-President of the National Association of the Digital Economy.
However, experts believe, the legal mechanisms for regulating cryptocurrencies should be considered seriously by Russia in the off chance that the economy might lose the chance to evolve alongside the progressive digitalized transactions practised in developed countries.
Dmitry Zakharov, a proponent of cryptocurrency said,

“We cannot overcome cryptocurrencies. While they (cryptocurrencies) were and are here to stay, the state still does not receive all the benefits that the new digital economy can provide.”

Zakharov also pointed out that the lack of proper regulation of digital currencies could lead to the drain of experts in the field and the loss of potential investors.
Another reason to have proper crypto regulations is that Russia, having relatively cheaper electricity costs can hugely benefit from mining operations.