Russia To Mine Crypto For Cross-Border Deals, Says Bank of Russia

TL;DR

• The Russian central bank to wants to mine cryptocurrencies to facilitate cross-border transactions. 

• However, crypto trading and payments within Russia will still be banned.

Russian Central Bank To Explore Crypto Mining

The Bank of Russia is currently working on a bill that would allow it to use cryptocurrencies exclusively in export-import deals. This is according to the head of the regulatory agency, Elvira Naiullina.

Naiullina added that while the Bank of Russia will use cryptocurrencies to settle cross-border transactions, crypto trading and payments within Russia will still be banned. 

The Russian government is currently working on a bill that would establish a national agency to license and supervise cryptocurrency platforms operating in Russia. This is according to Sergei Altukhov, a member of the Russian parliament’s economic policies committee. 

Altukhov further stated that a new tax code would be introduced for miners as a part of the regulation.

Nabiullina revealed this latest development while speaking to a parliamentary fraction of the “New People” political party earlier this week. The regulatory head added that the Bank of Russia’s plan includes the creation of special organizations that will be charged with mining crypto and processing payments for cross-border trade deals. 

At the moment, it remains unclear what these organizations might be. Cryptocurrencies are not regarded as legal entities in Russia. According to the local law passed in 2020, digital assets issued within Russia can be used to facilitate cross-border transactions. 

Naliullina’s deputy, Alexey Guznov, added that the apex bank is also in talks with the government as they seek to define the type of organizations that can partake in the experiment, their projected business models, and the banks they will be using. 

He added that in the early stages of the experiment, the companies that would participate would most likely be government-sponsored. 

Following the international sanctions on Russia, the Bank of Russia and the country’s Ministry of Finance earlier agreed that the country could use crypto payments to facilitate cross-border transactions.