With regulation coming thick and fast across Asia the effects on the markets can be seen instantly. Last week a bucket-load of FUD caused a sell-off when a number of large news agencies misreported that South Korea was banning crypto trading. This wasn’t the case at all and the country remains open. Russia could soon be joining them as it prepares to vote on legalizing crypto exchanges.
According to Newsweek, citing Russian media, the Ministry of Finance has drafted a new bill to legalize cryptocurrency trading on organized trading platforms. It will submit the bill to the federal legislature for voting in February.
Official Exchanges
Russian Deputy Finance Minister Alexei Moiseev told media that the Finance Ministry supports the legalization of trade in cryptocurrencies on official exchanges and does not want to limit and regulate, but will set some limits. He went on to add;
This is about the fact that buying and selling of cryptocurrencies will be somehow standardized. The general idea is that it will be necessary to buy and sell on official exchanges, as it will be declared, it will be legalized.
Last week Russia’s central bank confirmed that it had discussed the possibility of legalizing crypto trading with the Finance Ministry through organized exchange platforms. While Bank of Russia opposes the move, as most banks do, the policymakers seem to be a little more open to the notion.
Warming to Crypto
Russia came down heavy on crypto trading last year when the head of Russia’s Ministry of Communications said the country would ‘never’ legalize Bitcoin within its economy. Representatives from the central bank have a called it a pyramid scheme and seem staunchly opposed to a system that would effectively take control away from the bank.
President Putin sees the need for regulation and last week told local media;
If we regulate, but not efficiently enough, then the government will be responsible for the difficult situations that people can get into. Right now it is the responsibility of the person himself and the government can only say ‘you can do this but you can’t do that,’ and if it’s still not clear then there will be some problems that need to be solved.
Similar to the stance in South Korea the Russian government is appearing to want to protect its citizens from making risky financial decisions that could end badly for those with limited knowledge and experience.
Will cryptocurrency legalization in Russia bring a surge of new traders to the markets? Add your thoughts below.
Images courtesy of Shutterstock