Russia’s Finance Minister: Local Banks Should be Able to Deal With Crypto (Report)

Anton Siluanov – Russia’s Minister of Finance – believes local financial institutions should have a universal license to facilitate cryptocurrency trading services. His viewpoint stands far from the central bank’s proposal to impose a complete ban on all digital asset endeavors.

Another Vote in Favor of Regulation

A few weeks ago, Russia’s central bank urged the local government to impose a blanket ban on all digital asset endeavors inside its borders. The institution argued that bitcoin and the altcoins remind of a pyramid scheme, undermine the sovereignty of monetary policy, and threaten the local monetary system.

Shortly after, though, President Vladimir Putin and Ivan Chebeskov (member of the Finance Ministry) opposed such harsh legislation. The nation’s leader opined that Russia could benefit from digital asset mining, while the latter stated that a regulatory framework is more appropriate than a China-style prohibition.

According to a February 3 report, Russia’s Finance Minister – Anton Siluanov – supports that idea. In a letter addressed to Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, he proposed that local banks should have the authorization to organize digital asset services. Additionally, Siluanov said investing in cryptocurrencies must be treated similarly to investing in gold or other precious metals.

Still, Russia’s Finance Minister and the nation’s central bank share some similarities in their viewpoints. They both think that digital assets can not serve as a legal tender inside the state’s borders.

Siluanov noted that local investors own approximately 2 trillion rubles ($26 billion) worth of crypto. His assumption is significantly different than an estimate revealed by the Russian government earlier this week. It informed that Russians hold around $215 billion of digital assets, representing 12% of the total value of the market.

Anton Siluanov, Source: Bloomberg

Binance Finds Russia Attractive

By the looks of it, the world’s leading cryptocurrency exchange – Binance – is not concerned about the controversy in Russia. Last week, the company announced it seeks to expand its services to the largest country by landmass and to some of its neighbors.

Gleb Kostarev – Eastern European Director of Binance – acknowledged that the firm’s goal is to secure a license wherever regulations allow it. In his view, Russia would soon apply comprehensive rules to its crypto ecosystem.

The exec also pointed out that local investors generated an annual volume of digital asset transactions at about $5 billion, which is highly attractive to Binance.

Featured Image Courtesy of RT