The Russian central bank said it’s ready to legalize the bitcoin and digital currencies.
After the first discussions by the Bank of Russia on bitcoin and digital currency when the bank warned about the potential treatment under the law, the country may consider legalising popular cryptocurrency bitcoin, as the central bank is softening its earlier tone on crypto-currencies adding they may be “the future.”
According to the Wall Street Journal, the country’s central bank has already started gathering information about bitcoin and digital currencies.
Georgy Luntovsky, Bank of Russia deputy chairman, has announced that while there has been evidence that bitcoin is being used to pay for drugs and weapons in Russia, it will not seek to take harsh measures against its use.
“We advocate a careful approach to bitcoin and are monitoring the situation along with the Bank for International Settlements,” said Georgy Luntovsky, the Bank of Russia’s deputy chairman, during his speech at the annual International Banking Congress in St Petersburg.
Moreover Mr. Luntovsky explained:
“At this stage, we need to watch how the situation develops with these kinds of currencies. These instruments should not be rejected.”
Earlier this year, the central bank of Russia issued a warning stating that the use of any “money substitutes” including bitcoin is illegal in the country, that announcement caused a big fear in the world as it was seen that Russia was planning to ban the use of bitcoin. Russsia s not the only country with such jurisdiction, until recently California had a similar law.
Mr. Luntovsky pointed out that his company is now undertaking a “wait-and-see” approach to bitcoin regulation.
German Gref, who previously worked as a government minister from 2000 to 2007, currently heads Sberbank. Sberbank is the third-largest bank in Europe. He has mentioned that in his opinion a ban of bitcoin would be a “colossal mistake”, and before any decision is made, bitcoin should be regulated.
This march Russian regulators said they were ready to discuss digital currencies and that the main goal is not to ban bit coin in the future.
Konstantin has always been at the forefront of the global virtual currency scene since first discovering cryptocurrencies the same year that Satoshi Nakomoto created bitcoin in 2009. Konstantin is the owner of a number of small businesses in trucking and mobile development, and co-founded CoinSpeaker in 2014. He graduated from Belarusian State University in 2009 with a degree in Mathematics and Mechanics. You can contact Konstantin via [email protected]
