According to a high-ranking representative, the Russian Ministry of Finance is ready to support legalization of transactions with stablecoins in Russia. The ministry recognizes that cryptocurrencies could lay the foundation for a new financial system, but the ministry is unsure if they are better than what we have today.
Russian Minfin is open to legalizing stablecoin if business requires it
The Russian Federal Ministry of Finance (Minfin) is generally supportive of authorizing the circulation of stablecoins in the country, according to Ivan Chebeskov, head of the ministry’s Financial Policy Department. The senior official made these remarks at the Russian Creative Week panel “The Influence of Web3 – New Era of the Internet of Trust?”
Chebeskov said that Minfin is focusing on this issue from the perspective of Russian entrepreneurs. He elaborated, “If a company, firm, or investor needs to settle or invest in a new way, if they need such a tool that can reduce costs, work better than previous tools, and limit the risks associated with it, we always support such efforts.”
Quoted by RBC Crypto, the government representative also noted that blockchain in general, as well as crypto assets, digitization, and tokenization, could potentially offer opportunities to establish entirely new financial systems.” However, we cannot be entirely certain that it can work better than the existing financial system.” Chebeskov commented.
The Russian Ministry of Finance has been the driving force behind efforts to legalize businesses using cryptocurrencies in Russia, and earlier this year introduced a new bill “On Digital Currency” designed to fill the regulatory gap left by the “On Digital Financial Assets” law The bill is expected to be passed by the end of the year. The latter only partially regulated crypto matters when it went into effect in January 2021.
Meanwhile, the Central Bank of Russia has maintained strong opposition to allowing crypto transactions in the country, while proposing to develop a digital ruble and ban crypto-related activities altogether. Just recently, President Elvira Nabiullina softened her stance a bit, saying that regulators may agree to small crypto payments in international payments as Western sanctions against Russia intensify.
Chebeskov’s statement comes despite the collapse of Terausd (UST), which has caused a major market downturn and loss of confidence in stablecoin. The situation in the crypto market was recently cited by Anatoly Aksakov, head of the Congressional Committee on Financial Markets, who warned that upcoming legislation, revised several times this year, would be “tough.”
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