There are reports that an agreement between the Bank of Russia and the country’s Ministry of Finance has enabled cross-border cryptocurrency settlements.
Russian Deputy Finance Minister Alexei Moiseev reportedly stated that the government agency and the central bank have “on the whole” agreed on a rule that would permit citizens to send cross-border payments using cryptocurrencies in a report published on Thursday by the Russian publication Kommersant.
The policy “describes how to acquire cryptocurrency, what can be done with it, and its use in cross-border settlements,” according to Alexei Moiseev. The planned regulation change was intended to give Russian citizens access to digital wallets.
The central bank reportedly spoke with government representatives about the subject of cross-border crypto payments, according to Russian news outlets. The Bank of Russia apparently disagreed with both allowing bitcoin exchanges to function lawfully and not recognising it as legal cash.
Moiseev stated on September 5:
“Now that people are opening crypto wallets outside the Russian Federation, it is necessary to do this in Russia with entities supervised by the central bank, which are required to comply with Anti-Money Laundering and Know Your Customer requirements.”
Russia and cryptocurrencies have had a rocky relationship. The nation enacted legislation outlawing the use of cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin (BTC), for financial transactions in 2020. A regulation prohibiting the use of digital currency as payment was also passed into law by President Vladimir Putin in July. Denis Manturov, Russia’s trade minister, said in May that the country would “sooner or later” allow crypto payments.
Comprehensive economic sanctions have been imposed on Ukraine’s government, corporations, and some individuals since Russia invaded the nation in February. On September 15, the US Treasury Department added 22 people and two businesses with addresses in Russia to its list of entities subject to sanctions on the grounds that they had helped the government’s goals in Ukraine.