Annual Cryptocurrency Transactions Worth $129B Evade Russian Oversight: Finance Official
A senior Russian finance official reveals daily crypto trading volumes of 50 billion rubles, emphasizing the urgent need for comprehensive cryptocurrency regulation.
Both Russia's central bank and finance ministry are pushing the government to accelerate the implementation of cryptocurrency market regulations as digital asset adoption surges, with officials revealing that Russian citizens engage in cryptocurrency transactions totaling nearly 50 billion Russian rubles ($648 million) each day.
Based on Thursday reporting by Russian media outlet RBC, Ivan Chebeskov, who serves as Russia's deputy finance minister, highlighted the critical need for market oversight, noting that the majority of cryptocurrency-related transactions are currently conducted through channels that remain unregulated.
"We have always said that millions of citizens are involved in this activity, these are trillions of rubles from the point of view of citizens in use, in savings," he said as part of a panel discussion on digital assets at the Alfa Talk conference, adding:
"Also, for example, one of the figures, about 50 billion rubles per day is the turnover of crypto in our country. That is a turnover of more than 10 trillion rubles per year, which is now happening outside the regulated zone, outside our attention."
When converted, the 50 billion rubles in daily trading volume mentioned by Chebeskov amounts to approximately $648 million, while the annual figure translates to $129.4 billion. This represents significant cryptocurrency adoption across the nation as it grapples with economic sanctions imposed by the US and European nations.
The European Union has specifically voiced concerns regarding Russia's potential use of digital currencies to circumvent sanctions, and is advocating to "ban all cryptocurrency transactions with Russia" through a forthcoming sanctions package, as reported by the Financial Times on Feb. 10.
Toward the end of December, a policy proposal was released by Russia's central bank that would permit both qualified and non-qualified investors to purchase specific cryptocurrency assets, representing a dramatic shift from its previous advocacy for a complete prohibition on crypto.
The framework outlined in the proposal aims to establish stringent limitations for non-qualified investors, capping their annual cryptocurrency holdings at 300,000 rubles ($3,834) worth of crypto annually, while granting qualified investors extensive market access, with the exception of privacy coins.
During the same panel discussion alongside Chebeskov, Vladimir Chistyukhin, the first deputy chairman of Russia's central bank, expressed his anticipation for cryptocurrency market regulations to receive governmental approval during the spring session of the State Duma, which represents the first of Russia's two annual legislative periods.
"We would very much like the government to see the law adopted in the spring session. I hope that this is a possible consensus decision and this will provide an opportunity for a transition period for market participants to obtain the necessary licenses, to develop appropriate internal documents to start work, as I said, to legalize this segment of the market," he said.