Russia will likely move forward to oversee the issuance and circulation of cryptocurrencies in the country after President Vladimir Putin made the decision during a meeting with top officials earlier this week. The Russian news agency TASS reported the development.
“The president voiced the issues related to cryptocurrencies. This includes difficulties of compliance with anti-money laundering legislation and cases related to complications of identification,” said Finance Minister Anton Siluanov. “That is why we agreed that the state should control the process of cryptocurrency emission and its circulation. The state should take control over it.”
Officials feel the need to design and adopt legislation to regulate the mining and circulation of cryptocurrencies, the finance minister said, according to the TASS account. “I won’t speak about specific parameters now, but in general, we agreed that the state should take a lead in this process and to regulate it on the legislative level,” said Siluanov.
During the meeting, Putin noted that it is necessary to institute the circulation of cryptocurrencies in Russia and at the same time not create unnecessary barriers, the Russian news agency reported. “Modern technologies in the banking sphere definitely open new opportunities for organizations and citizens, make business activity and daily life more convenient also,” it quoted the president as saying. “Virtual [currencies] or cryptocurrencies are becoming and have already become more popular. They have already become or are turning into a full-fledged payment instrument and an investment asset in certain countries,” Putin said.
But using them also carries serious risks, he added. “This is primarily an opportunity for laundering criminal capital, evading taxes and even financing terrorism, and certainly, for spreading fraudulent schemes, where lay citizens may definitely become victims,” Putin remarked. In June, Russian Central Bank Deputy Governor Olga Skorobogatova said the institution would develop its own cryptocurrency.