The Russian Central Bank continues to maintain a very negative stance on cryptocurrencies, proposing to ban local miners from selling coins to the local population.
The Bank of Russia supported the idea of legalizing cryptocurrency mining in Russia as part of a bill introduced in mid-November 2022.
However, the Russian Central Bank wants to allow miners to sell their cryptocurrencies only on foreign exchanges and to non-residents of Russia, local news agency Interfax reported Dec. 7.
“We believe that cryptocurrency obtained as a result of mining can be sold exclusively using foreign infrastructure and only to non-residents,” the Bank of Russia press office reportedly said, adding:
“In general, we adhere to the position on the inadmissibility of digital currency trading on the territory of the Russian Federation.”
Obviously, the new proposal would raise a lot of questions from miners in Russia, as many foreign cryptocurrency exchanges have banned Russians from using their platforms in compliance with sanctions related to Russia’s war in Ukraine. The Bank of Russia has long been in favor of allowing residents to trade only via foreign trade platforms as well.
According to the proposal of the Bank of Russia, miners who want to sell their self-mined cryptocurrency within Russia must carry out operations through an “authorized organization.”
This news comes shortly after the Russian Ministry of Finance opposed the proposal of the Bank of Russia to introduce strict licensing of cryptocurrency mining operations in Russia.
On December 6, Deputy Finance Minister Alexei Moiseev reportedly said that the Russian Central Bank had developed a new plan to allow mining only through “authorized organizations.” According to the official, such a measure would essentially bring “full license” to cryptocurrency mining. Moiseev is reported to have said, “We are against it.”
As previously reported, Russian lawmakers submitted a bill on cryptocurrency mining to the House of Representatives on November 17. The original version of the bill does not include a ban on the sale of mined cryptocurrency to residents of Russia. At the same time, the bill does not allow miners to sell their coins anywhere other than on foreign exchanges or through the state-backed platform being developed within the experimental cryptocurrency legal system.
Related: Russia Crypto Miners Take Advantage of the Bear Market by Hoarding ASIC Hardware
The latest news marks another development in the long history of controversy over cryptocurrency regulation between the anti-cryptocurrency Central Bank of Russia and the more crypto-friendly Finance Ministry. Years of controversy have only contributed to a situation where citizens and residents of Russia still do not have a clear framework for cryptocurrency, while domestic cryptocurrency adoption is still growing.
Russia’s bill on cryptocurrency mining is one of the country’s most anticipated legal initiatives, along with the government’s initiative to legalize cryptocurrency for cross-border payments for imports. According to Anatoly Aksakov, Chairman of the Finance Committee of the Russian lower house of parliament, the relevant amendments are expected to be adopted by February 2023.
