Russia To Criminalize Use of Cryptocurrencies As Mode Of Payment

According to the Russian government publication Parliamentskaya Gazeta, cryptocurrency regulations will be in place by July 1. The regulations, which will part of the Digital Assets Regulation Bill, will provide the guidelines for the use of cryptocurrencies in Russia. Notably, the Russian Ministry of Finance plans to introduce a law that will criminalize the use of cryptocurrencies as mode of payment.

Elvira Nabiullina, head of the Bank of Russia, stated that the Central bank and the Russian Finance Ministry opposes the use of cryptocurrencies as a medium of payment and only ruble can be used as a legal tender. Nabiullina said

“There is the ruble, and everything else is a surrogate.”

Nabiullina explained that cryptocurrency payments are deemed illegal in order to protect the Russian ruble. The punishment or fine that will be slapped on an offender is yet to be determined and will be a part of the forthcoming guidelines.

Alexei Moiseev, Russia’s deputy finance minister

“The consequences of the violation of this principle have not been reflected anywhere for many years. The Finance Ministry decided to fill this gap.”

In January 2018, Russia announced its intention to legalize cryptocurrency trading on regulated platforms. The government of Russia stated that it is a must to protect investors from getting swindled by scamsters.