Russian government advisor leads push for domestic crypto bank

Russia should create its own cryptocurrency bank, according to an advisory body consulting ministers and lawmakers on new legislation.

Moscow should follow the example of Minsk, where this is currently under consideration, a member of the civil society institution suggested, highlighting the crypto experience of ally Belarus.

Proposal to set up a crypto bank pitched in Russia

The country needs a crypto bank, a representative of the Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation said in an interview with the official TASS news agency.

According to Evgeny Masharov, member of the organization’s commission for public examination of bills and regulations, such an entity will solve many issues, including illegal payments for billions of rubles.

He believes a Russian crypto trading platform will also bring more revenue to the state budget and help regulate the activities of cryptocurrency miners who will be able to sell their minted coins on it.

Also quoted by the Gazeta.ru news portal, Masharov said the digital asset bank will help reduce cases of fraud and block a major channel for “financing and recruiting” Russian citizens “to commit serious crimes, including against the state.”

Funds currently processed by “droppers,” as money mules are commonly called in Russia, are usually transferred to cryptocurrency wallets and then legalized for the purchase of real estate and luxury goods, he explained.

Settlements in the new bank should be made in cryptocurrencies and money should be credited only through customers’ current accounts, the Civic Chamber member elaborated on his idea.

Russia urged to follow in the footsteps of Belarus

Masharov cited Belarus as an example, Russia’s closest political and economic ally, which regulated its digital economy, including cryptocurrency transactions, more than eight years ago.

Last week, the country’s long-term president, Alexander Lukashenko, called on government officials to update these regulations, as reported by Cryptopolitan. He also highlighted the record levels of Belarusian crypto payments amid sanctions in front of a group of leading bankers this week.

During one of the series of meetings devoted to fast-tracking the new regulatory framework, Lukashenko approved a proposal to establish a crypto bank in Belarus.

The idea was presented by a deputy governor of the central bank, who was tasked, along with the government, to prepare the respective presidential decree within a month.

Speaking on Tuesday, Evgeny Masharov told TASS:

“The Russian Federation also needs to create its own crypto bank. This will solve a number of current problems. In particular, bring shadow transactions, which amount to hundreds of billions of rubles, into the legal field, and therefore replenish the federal budget.”

Russia is lagging behind Belarus in terms of introducing proper rules for its crypto space. The law “On Digital Financial Assets,” which came into force a few years ago, actually banned certain cryptocurrency transactions such as payments.

The Central Bank of Russia (CBR) remains the main opponent to legalizing the free circulation of decentralized digital currencies like Bitcoin in the country’s economy.

So far, the monetary authority has only agreed to allow the use of cryptocurrencies in cross-border trade settlements within a special “experimental legal regime,” designed to help Russian companies in their dealings with foreign partners under sanctions.

Russian economist Sergey Suetin, professor at the Institute of International Economic Relations in Moscow, recently assessed the possibility of introducing crypto payments in Russia in the next five years at just 1%.

Meanwhile, Belarusian payments through the country’s licensed cryptocurrency exchanges exceeded $1.7 billion in the first seven months of the year and may reach $3 billion by the end of 2025, according to estimates quoted by Lukashenko on Tuesday.

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