Russian Government, Central Bank ‘Come to Consensus on Crypto’
Russian government bodies, the nation’s anti-money laundering agency, and the Central Bank have reportedly “come to a consensus” on crypto policy.
The breakthrough could finally put an end to a long-standing crypto impasse in Moscow. It could also see Russia belatedly start regulating the crypto sector.
According to the media outlet RBC, the Ministry of Finance, the Central Bank, and Rosfinmonitoring have “agreed on an approach to regulating cryptocurrencies.”
Rosfinmonitoring is the country’s anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing agency. It has recently called for Moscow to fast-track crypto regulations after the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) downgraded Russia’s compliance rating.
The FATF noted that Russia had adopted “insufficient regulation of virtual assets and cryptocurrencies” at a February 23 plenary meeting.
The Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank have been at loggerheads over crypto policy for years.
The ministry wants to regulate crypto and legalize industrial mining. It also wants to let Russian firms use crypto as an international payment tool.
Miners this month petitioned ministries in a third concerted effort to have their industry placed on an official register of licensed business activities.
Ministries have responded “positively,” Russian reports have claimed. However, the Russian government is not united on the matter.
The nation’s trade and industry ministry is reportedly unhappy with the proposal.
However, the acting director of the Financial Policy Department of the Ministry of Finance, Alexey Yakovlev, said “both the state and market participants” were interested in legalizing the industry.
Miners have claimed Moscow can expect to raise millions of dollars worth of tax every year
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