Russian Authorities Considering Creating Native Cryptocurrency Exchange

A legal framework that will permit the creation of a Russian cryptocurrency exchange in Moscow is being developed by members of the State Duma, the lower chamber of the Russian parliament. According to reliable sources cited by the main Russian business daily Vedomosti, the MPs have been discussing the plan with sector representatives since mid-November.

The publication stated that the MPs intended to create a draft and present it to the government and the Central Bank of Russia (CBR) after considering the views of market participants. The sources reported that neither members of the monetary authority nor the Ministry of Finance were present at the meeting.

Russian Digital Assets Law to Be Amended

The country’s “Law on Digital Financial Assets,” which became operational in January 2021, will be amended as appropriate. Even though it only partially regulates the country’s crypto industry, it remains a key piece of legislation.

Other amendments put out last week seek to legitimize mining while outlawing cryptocurrency circulation, trading, and untargeted advertising in Russia, except for specific “experimental legal regimes” that permit their usage in import payments.

Sergey Altukhov, a member of the legislative Economic Policy Committee from the ruling United Russia party, acknowledged to Vedomosti that work is already in progress to establish the legal framework for a Russian cryptocurrency exchange.

Altukhov claims that the key issue is the billions of rubles in missed tax money that the Russian Federation could have collected. He stressed the need to establish the prerequisites for cryptocurrency legalization and modify the “game rules” to ensure that they do not conflict with the stances of the executive branch and the central bank.

BREAKING: Russia Is Making A Government-Controlled Crypto Exchange 🚨

The reason for this is billions of rubles are being lost in revenue from taxes that the Russian Federation could collect. 🤑

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— MASON VERSLUIS 🏆🔮 (@MasonVersluis) November 24, 2022

One of the sources added that the upcoming exchange will allow Russians to declare and swap their digital assets for cash rather than serve as a platform for the proliferation of cryptocurrencies or their usage as a form of payment in Russia.