Russia’s financial authorities are close to reversing part of their position on crypto by legalizing digital assets for cross-border settlements, according to a report from TASS, a Russian state-owned news agency.
reports that the Ministry of Finance and the Bank of Russia are both acknowledging it is necessary to soon enable cross-border crypto payments.
Explains Alexei Moiseev, the country’s deputy finance minister,
“As for the regulation of the cryptocurrency market, the difference in approaches has remained. But I can say that the Central Bank has also rethought [the approach], taking into account the fact that the situation has changed, and we are rethinking it.
Because the infrastructure that we plan to create is too rigid for the use of cryptocurrencies in cross-border settlements, which, of course, we must, first of all, legalize somehow. On the one hand, give people the opportunity to do it, on the other hand, put it under control so that there is no laundering, paying for drugs, and so on.”
Moiseev adds that the regulatory framework for cross-border crypto asset payments still needs to be introduced.
“Now people open crypto wallets outside the Russian Federation. It is necessary that this can be done in Russia, that this is done by entities supervised by the Central Bank, which are required to comply with the requirements of anti-money laundering legislation, and first of all, of course, to know their client.”
