Russia to fully allow cryptocurrencies soon to use as legal tender (May 19, 2022)

According to the Russian Commerce Minister Denis Manturov, his country will soon allow cryptocurrencies as a means of payment. As the central bank and government are working on this, the question now is how such currencies should be regulated, Manturov said at an event. Russian demand for cryptocurrencies is on the rise, as Russians want to protect their savings or transfer them abroad.

"Eeryone tends to understand that this is a trend of time, and sooner or later, in one format or another it will be carried out," said Manturov. |But, once again, it should be legal, correct, in accordance with the rules that will be formulated." In Russia, transactions with an estimated volume of five billion dollars are processed via cryptocurrencies every year. The Moscow government is also planning to introduce a digital ruble.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24 made cryptocurrency trading even more explosive. Industry service CryptoCompare reported in early March that 15.3 billion rubles ($140 million) worth of cryptocurrencies were traded in one day, three times as much as the week before. The country's largest bank, Sberbank, was already granted a license to issue and exchange digital financial assets, and Moscow announced that there would be no bans on cryptocurrency mining in the country but on the contrary, legislation for this sector should be developed.

Aleksey Zubyets, director of the Socio-Economic Research Institute of the Financial University in Moscow, told Anadolu Agency: "In the economic war declared by the US and EU, cryptocurrencies can become a tool to circumvent the embargo."

Sources: https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/russia-could-legalise-cryptocurrencies-means-payment-industry-minister-2022-05-18/ https://bitcoinmagazine.com/markets/russia-will-eventually-legalize-bitcoin https://www.aa.com.tr/en/russia-ukraine-war/war-sees-soaring-russian-demand-for-cryptocurrencies-/2544910