Russian Finance Ministry: A cryptocurrency ban would make millions of Russians lawbreakers.

The concept proposed by the Russian Ministry of Finance for regulating cryptocurrencies takes into account all risks voiced by the central bank, said Deputy Finance Minister Alexey Moiseev, as reported by ТАСС.

According to him, a complete ban on the turnover of cryptocurrencies and mining, as the central bank had proposed to do, would lead to an outflow of specialists from the country and a loss of tax revenue for the state, as well as slow the development of technologies.

“Clear regulation eliminates the possibility of a parallel financial system forming in Russia, introduces clear and understandable rules for market participants, and creates tools to protect investors’ rights. In the event of a ban, all of them could automatically become lawbreakers, and that would be millions of people,” he noted.

He emphasized the growing public interest in cryptocurrencies and noted that banks and exchanges would be the ‘only legal entry point to the market’, and would be obliged to comply with all anti-money-laundering regulations.

According to media reports, authorities estimated Russians’ cryptocurrency savings at more than 16.5 trillion rubles, and potential tax revenues at 1 trillion rubles per year.

In contrast to the Bank’s restrictive stance, the Ministry proposed regulating the market and presented its own concept. Later, it was backed by the government.

It envisions conducting all transactions through the banking infrastructure, full identification and licensing of exchanges and exchangers.

The Bank of Russia believes that the concept proposed by the Ministry of Finance for market regulation merely creates new risks to Russians’ welfare and financial stability.

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