Russia Issues Bullish Statements and Bill on Cryptocurrencies

Another significant regulatory change regarding the cryptocurrency market is on the agenda in Russia. Anatoly Aksakov, chairman of the State Duma’s Financial Markets Committee, announced that a draft law is being prepared that would remove cryptocurrencies from the special financial regulatory regime.

Aksakov, in a statement to Rossiya-24 television, said that digital financial assets and cryptocurrencies will be given ample space in the upcoming spring legislative session, adding that the aim of this regulation is to make cryptocurrencies a “common tool” in the daily lives of Russian citizens. With the new draft law, cryptocurrencies will be removed from the current strict and privileged financial regulatory framework and will have a wider scope of use.

One of the notable aspects of the regulation will be the opening of the cryptocurrency market to unqualified (individual) investors. Accordingly, unqualified investors will be limited to 300,000 rubles for cryptocurrency purchases. Professional and qualified financial market participants, however, will be able to operate in this market without any amount restrictions.

Aksakov also stated that cryptocurrencies could be actively used not only in the domestic market but also internationally. The new regulation aims to facilitate the use of cryptocurrencies in international payments and to enable digital assets issued in Russia to participate in foreign financial markets.