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Russian governmental agencies, including the nation’s anti-money laundering authority and the Central Bank, have reportedly reached a “consensus” regarding cryptocurrency policy.
This development may finally resolve a prolonged stalemate concerning cryptocurrency in Moscow and could lead to Russia beginning to regulate the crypto industry.
Russian Government’s Crypto ‘Breakthrough’
As reported by the media outlet RBC, the Ministry of Finance, the Central Bank, and Rosfinmonitoring have “concurred on a strategy for regulating cryptocurrencies.”
Rosfinmonitoring serves as the country’s agency for anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing. Recently, it has urged Moscow to expedite crypto regulations following a downgrade in Russia’s compliance rating by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).
During a plenary meeting on February 23, the FATF indicated that Russia had implemented “insufficient regulation of virtual assets and cryptocurrencies.”
For years, the Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank have been in disagreement over crypto policy.
The ministry advocates for the regulation of cryptocurrency and the legalization of industrial mining, as well as allowing Russian companies to utilize crypto for international payments.
This month, miners have made a third collective appeal to ministries to have their sector recognized on an official register of licensed business activities.
Reports from Russia suggest that ministries have reacted “positively.” However, there is a lack of consensus within the Russian government on this issue.
The nation’s trade and industry ministry is reportedly dissatisfied with the proposal.
Nevertheless, Alexey Yakovlev, the acting director of the Financial Policy Department of the Ministry of Finance, stated that “both the state and market participants” are keen on legalizing the sector.
Miners have asserted that Moscow could generate millions of dollars in tax revenue annually from their thriving industry.
They have also claimed that if Moscow supports their sector, Russia could surpass the United States as the leading global crypto mining power.
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Anton Siluanov (left), Russia’s Minister of Finance. (Source: Studio Production/YouTube)
Third Time Lucky for Russian Crypto Miners?
The Ministry of Finance has reportedly started drafting legislation that will address issues related to crypto mining.
The previous attempt by the same ministry to formulate a crypto bill ended in failure in 2022, when the Central Bank introduced its own competing proposal.
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The Central Bank’s 2022 proposal, which was skeptical of cryptocurrency, suggested a ban similar to that of China on nearly all crypto-related activities.
Crypto Consensus Forming in Moscow?
However, Yakovlev provided some optimism, stating that both the bank and Rosfinmonitoring are “consulting” with the ministry regarding the draft legislation.
Yakovlev mentioned that the bill would cover aspects such as how miners should manage their coins. The bank has previously indicated that it would only support crypto mining if miners convert their coins to fiat on foreign crypto trading platforms.
Law enforcement agencies have expressed their disapproval of this approach, arguing that it would “open the door to money laundering.”
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RBC also cited a spokesperson from the Ministry of Finance as “expressing hope” that the State Duma would “be able to consider a bill on the regulation of cryptocurrencies” during the current session.
Yakovlev has previously stated that it “would be pointless” for the Russian government to “attempt to ban crypto mining.”
In March 2022, he dismissed ministry proposals to prohibit “private” mining while advocating for the legalization of the industrial mining sector.
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