Duma members warn that the central bank’s stance on cryptocurrencies risks turning Russia into a laughing stock

The government, the State Duma and the security agencies did not back the Bank of Russia’s position on cryptocurrencies. This was stated by Anatoly Aksakov, head of the Committee on the Financial Market, and Andrei Lugovoy, first deputy head of the Committee on Security and Anti-Corruption.

According to them, among the members working group, tasked with regulating the circulation of digital assets in Russia, none of the authorities supports the central bank’s proposed bans affecting the cryptocurrency industry.

Lugovoy emphasised that a total ban on crypto assets should be thoroughly justified, “with concrete, clear and understandable figures and with an explanation of what we should do with people who hold cryptocurrency”.

He is convinced that banning the turnover of digital currencies is impossible, and the market will simply move to the underground:

“Let those who want to ban it explain to us, from a practical point of view, how they plan to do this so that we do not appear as a laughing stock to the whole world.”

The deputies also pointed to the regulator’s misinterpretation of the existing law “On Digital Financial Assets” (“On DFA”).

 “In the understanding of the deputies who adopted this law, it is quite clear that it concerns cryptocurrencies. And now the Bank of Russia is trying to say that we [the deputies] did not mean that this is cryptocurrency — that’s not so,” Lugovoy said.

Following the passage of the On DFA law, officials drafted a bill to tax cryptocurrencies for bringing them into the legal framework, but it was blocked by the Bank of Russia, the deputy said.

According to Lugovoy, during the document’s first reading the Bank of Russia supported it, but later abruptly changed its position:

“All the amendments that the government had agreed to are not approved by the Bank of Russia, and the law cannot be adopted.”

The deputy chairman of the State Duma committee on information policy, information technology and communications Anton Gorelkin told TASS, that the Bank of Russia’s proposed ban could negatively affect the country’s technological development. He also said that he does not consider it the right solution.

As reported on 20 January, the Bank of Russia presented a report proposing to ban the circulation of cryptocurrencies and mining in Russia.

ForkLog’s interviewed experts believe that a full ban on the circulation of cryptocurrencies within the country will provoke an outflow of specialists and inflows into the economy, but the established market will not be killed.

Anatoly Aksakov stated that there is no single view on cryptocurrency regulation in the State Duma. In his words, a consensus will be reached in at least six months.

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