On Tuesday, the Russian Prime Minister, Mikhail Mishustin instructed the government to come to a consensus regarding crypto regulation including rules for cross-border payments in Russia by December 19, 2022.
The PM has asked state authorities to come up with organized policies on a regulated issuance and circulation of digital currencies in Russia. Mishustin has also asked regulators to decide regulations for crypto mining and cross-border payments in digital currencies.
As per the instruction, the Ministry of Finance and the Bank of Russia must submit approved proposals on the development of the digital asset market in Russia which includes the use of decentralized technologies, by December 01.
The report reveals that the upcoming crypto regulations draft must be in accordance with the Russian Finance Ministry, the central bank, Anti-Money Laundering authority Rosfinmonitoring, the Federal Tax Service, and the Federal Security Service.
The instructions come in the backdrop of Russia opposing the local crypto payments.
Maria Agranovskaya, a legal attorney and fintech expert in the Russian State Duma remarked that Russia might be the first country in the world to authorize cross-border crypto payments but also banning local crypto payments. She added, “This isn’t a common approach, to my knowledge”.
Agranovskaya said that how Russia will differentiate between domestic and cross-border crypto payments remains a mystery. As of now, all ‘foreign’ crypto is regarded as a digital currency.
She added, “It is absolutely unclear at the moment. I presume the matter shall be in line with the currency control regulations — tax residents in the local territory would not be allowed to use crypto for payments internally.”
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