Cryptocurrency not to be banned in Russia

Russia’s Deputy Finance Minister, has announced the new bill on cryptocurrency and a series of meetings with experts to consider the development of Bitcoin technology.

Russia.- Not long ago, Russia’s stance on Bitcoin and cryptocurrency was to ban their use altogether. Now, Alexei Moiseev, the Deputy Finance Minister, has presented the new bill on cryptocurrency. The next steps involve a series of meetings with experts to consider the development of Bitcoin technology. According to the minister, an outright ban on Bitcoin would be “unwise.”

On the other hand, Moiseev warned about the possibility of cryptocurrency becoming a tool for thieves and criminals. As a matter of fact, the government’s goal is to “limit the freedom for illegal actions and money laundering when using Bitcoin.”

In the same vein, Moiseev affirmed most of all suspicious transactions are made using cryptocurrency. These claims are allegedly backed up by European official sources. However, none of these reports on Bitcoin has been made public, so the validity to these claims is still to be checked.

The announcement of these measures does not mean the Central Bank of Russia will give up its position of money emission either. Bitcoin will still not be an officially recognised currency in the European country. But at least, getting involved in cryptocurrency will have no legal repercussions unless it is used for illegal activities.

Until the official law has been published, Bitcoin’s status in Russia remains very unclear. Furthermore, it has not yet been revealed what this new bill on cryptocurrency will entail exactly.