Elvira Nabiullina, governor of the Bank of Russia, has admitted that Russia’s central bank might have taken a bit too tough a stance on digital assets and should look to reconsider that. On Thursday, the Russian State Duma reappointed Nabiullina as Bank of Russia governor, marking the third time for her to take the post since she started serving in the position back in 2013. At the official Duma session, Nabiullina talked about many measures that Russia has been taking and is planning to adopt in order to help the government mitigate the impact of massive Western sanctions against the …

In the last few months, the standoff between the Central Bank of Russia (CBR) and the country’s Ministry of Finance over crypto regulation has become the key regulatory plot for the Russian crypto community to follow. Simultaneously, however, another important legislative development has been unfolding somewhat under the radar: negotiations around tax code amendments that would make cryptocurrencies a taxable asset class. Here’s how it went down so far. 13% for individuals and 20% for companies As the head of the State Duma’s (the lower chamber of Russian Parliament) financial markets committee, Anatoly Aksakov told local media on April 7 …

A major Russian banking association wants to criminalize keeping your own cryptocurrency keys. The Association of Banks of Russia, an organization that includes more than 300 Russian banks and financial institutions, has called on lawmakers to criminalize storing crypto outside of centralized exchanges on noncustodial wallets, local news agency Izvestia reported on Monday. In contrast to accounts at centralized crypto exchanges, noncustodial or self-custodial wallets allow users to store crypto without relying on a third party that is able to freeze, block or seize the user's crypto assets. This essentially enables investors to “be their own bank” by getting full …

An executive at Russia’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry has called on the government to conduct cross-border settlements in cryptocurrencies and central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). Chamber President Sergei Katyrin sent a letter to Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, providing a set of proposals for developing cooperation with African countries, the local state-backed publication TASS reported Thursday. In the letter, Katyrin reportedly advocated the use of CBDCs and cryptocurrencies for mutual settlement and payments as part of Russia’s move into Africa amid Western sanctions, stating: “It seems useful to instruct the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation, together with …

The Russian prime minister declared that the cryptocurrency holdings of Russians are worth billions of dollars but the government is yet to adopt a regulatory framework for the industry. Russians collectively hold more than 10 trillion rubles ($130 billion) in cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC), Russian prime minister Mikhail Mishustin claimed at the annual report presentation of the Russian government on Thursday. The prime minister did not mention the source for this figure, noting that the amount is based on “various estimates,” stating: “We are well aware that we have more than 10 million young people having opened crypto wallets so …

The Central Bank of Russia (CBR) recommended that the nation’s commercial banks ramp up monitoring users’ transactions that could be aimed at circumventing CBR’s “special economic measures to counter the outflow of foreign currency abroad,” local media reported on March 17. The recommendation includes closer oversight over crypto trading, which is named among the vehicles for withdrawing capital from Russia. The letter, sent to the banking organizations by CBR’s vice chairman Yuri Isaev on March 16, directs them to pay closer attention to the instances of their clients’ “unusual behavior.” This includes “abnormal” transactional activity and uncommon expenditures patterns. Any …

In January 2022, the Central Bank of Russia (CBR) proposed a number of measures aimed at curtailing the country’s cryptocurrency market, which included a blanket ban on the use and mining of all cryptocurrencies. It pointed out risks posed by the volatile nature of cryptocurrencies to the financial stability of the country, the extensive use of crypto in illegal activity and the energy costs involved in crypto mining. However, the utility of blockchain technology didn’t escape the CBR. The following month, it announced that it had started the pilot stage of the digital ruble, its planned central bank digital currency …

Bitcoin (BTC) has declined by around 30% after topping out at 5.8 million rubles a token on March 9. Nonetheless, the said drop could be an excuse for traders to dump another big stash of the Russian national currency if a classic bullish continuation pattern plays out. Bitcoin heads towards 11 million rubles Dubbed the "ascending triangle," the pattern appears when the price consolidates between a rising lower trendline (support) and a flat upper trendline (resistance). It completes after the price breaks out of the consolidation range in the direction of its previous trend, eyeing levels at length equal to …

Amid the ongoing discussion between the Central Bank of Russia (CBR) and the nation’s Finance Ministry on the future of crypto, a State Duma (the lower chamber of Parliament) working group has voiced their support for regulating rather than banning digital assets. The working group called for the “clear regulation of the digital assets industry” as the most effective approach to lower the risks associated with crypto’s adoption in the country. As reported by local media, some 50 experts took part in the panel session called by the Duma’s working group “On the questions of the regulation of cryptocurrency”. The …

A war rages on Europe’s eastern rim, having already left thousands of people dead and injured and millions more displaced. Digital assets have become so woven into the global financial system that a major political and economic crisis like the one unfolding right now has crypto inevitably involved on all levels: individual, institutional and national. From Russian nationals turning their burning passports into nonfungible tokens (NFTs) to refugees using crypto as a last financial resort, millions of dollars worth of crypto donations flowing to Ukraine, and both digital asset platforms and the United States government weighing crypto sanctions against Russia, …

U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoin Tether (USDT) witnessed a spike of over 30% in five days against the Russian ruble — highlighting the negative and immediate impact of the ongoing war on the traditional financial system. Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and crypto exchange Binance show that the ruble (RUB) is undergoing inflation as the USDT/RUB trading pair — for the first time in history — crossed 105 RUB. Prior to the spike, the USDT/RUB pair maintained a comparatively steady market price below 80 rubles. However, with the commencement of the Russia-Ukraine war, the ruble’s market price against USDT surged on Feb. …

Within the first week of the Russia-Ukraine war, the Ukrainian government has reached out to the crypto community on Twitter for raising funds to support its civilians and troops. Ukraine has now started accepting Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH) and Tether (USDT) as donations. As Russia threatens to take over Ukraine’s capital city of Kyiv, the government of Ukraine sought help from numerous international organizations to overpower the imminent threat. However, considering time is of the essence, the official Twitter account of Ukraine extended its call for help to Crypto Twitter. Stand with the people of Ukraine. Now accepting cryptocurrency donations. …