Russian regulators have agreed to establish a framework that would acknowledge cryptocurrencies as a form of currency, the government announced.
- The government is set to classify cryptocurrencies as an “analog of currencies” rather than financial digital assets. Draft measures are expected to be drawn up by February 18.
- The measure will establish a method to integrate digital currencies with the Russian financial system while maintaining regulatory oversight on cash flows of credit institutions.
- Cryptos used as a currency will require identity checks through the Russian banking system or licensed partners, and transactions over R600,000 or $8,000 mandated to be declared.
- The government noted that the lack of regulation as well as a ban on the industry would just boost the shadow economy and cause the growth of fraudulent cases moving forward.
The development comes a month after the Bank of Russia proposed a ban on cryptocurrency mining and several operations.
BTC is up 0.94%, ETH up 2.87%, and XRP up 4.05%.
Source: The Russian Government
