Russia needs to create regulations governing cryptocurrencies instead of abolishing them, the head of the policy department at the country’s Ministry of Finance said Tuesday (Jan. 25).
According to published reports, Ivan Chebeskov made these comments during a conference call organized by the Russian publication RBK, held less than a week after Russia’s central bank issued a report proposing a full ban on the mining and trading of cryptocurrency.
Read more: Russia’s Central Bank Proposes Banning Crypto
“We need to regulate, not ban,” Chebeskov said. “Regulation is sufficient to protect our citizens.”
He added that the Ministry of Finance has prepared a set of proposals for regulations and is waiting for the government to conduct an evaluation. Chebeskov argued that a ban on crypto would undermine the industry’s growth.
“We need to let these technologies develop,” he said.
In its report last week, the Bank of Russia argued that the “potential financial stability risks associated with cryptocurrencies are much higher for emerging markets, including in Russia.”
The bank said the growth of crypto was determined primarily by speculative demand and could create a market bubble that caused financial instability.
The Bank of Russia proposed blocking financial institutions from carrying out operations involving crypto, as well as a ban on crypto exchanges. The bank’s report noted that Russians are active in the crypto world, transacting around $5 billion each year.
“The best solution is to introduce a ban on cryptocurrency mining in Russia,” the bank said.
Read more: Biden May Soon Release Executive Order on Cryptocurrency
The bank’s report was followed by a significant drop in crypto prices. Russia is one of several nations considering curbs or outright bans on cryptocurrencies.
As PYMNTS reported Monday (Jan. 24), the Biden administration is preparing an executive order that will include a detailed government strategy on crypto, directing federal agencies to identify the risks and opportunities of digital assets.
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