​Russia: Total Ban on Crypto Ownership Still on Table, Says To | Crypto Miami

​Russia: Total Ban on Crypto Ownership Still on Table, Says Top Official.

Russian lawmakers’ seemingly endless quest to introduce crypto regulation in the country could culminate in a complete ban on the ownership and purchase of coins, says the elusive regulation’s chief architect.

The news agency Interfax quoted the head of the State Duma’s Committee on the Financial Markets Anatoly Aksakov as stating that the “authorities” were currently “discussing various options for regulating cryptocurrencies,” ranging “from a complete ban on their ownership and purchase” to “the legalization of bitcoin (BTC) exchanges.”

Crypto has become increasingly popular in Russia in recent years, with many of the country’s super-rich believed to have made sizeable crypto investments. The skyrocketing popularity of crypto mining, too, has driven up adoption. And in a country that specializes in producing top-level software engineers and other computer specialists, some would argue it is hard to see just how Moscow would go about enforcing a total, China-style ban.

Regardless, the resolutely crypto-skeptical Central Bank has been pushing for just this sort of draconian measure for years, and would likely lend its full support to such a measure. Earlier this month, it unveiled draft guidelines that, if accepted, would exclude the financial sector from most crypto-related activities.

Aksakov explained:

“There are very tough approaches that would completely outlaw the acquisition and ownership of cryptocurrencies. There is also approach that [regulators] should be only permit approved crypto exchanges, and that exchanges should be legalized in order for everything to become transparent and understandable for regulatory authorities.”

In the latter case, he stated, tax authorities would find it “easier to tax such operations.”