Russia has grown to be a formidable force in the world of cryptocurrency. Over the past few weeks, Russian officials have openly discussed cryptocurrency in public forums. Now President of Russia Vladimir Putin himself spoke about cryptocurrency, and his comments do not seem all that optimistic for Russian crypto investors. However, there was no mention of any ban on crypto. The president’s statement can be summarized to be a general fear of cryptocurrency’s high volatility. He also expressed fear about the fact that cryptocurrencies are not backed against anything. Growing crypto-related crimes are also a cause of concern since Russia does not have a proper penal code in place for crypto criminals.
Another area of concern in Russia is the rise of illegal Bitcoin miners. Bitcoin mining has long been a cause of distress for Russian regulators since there is no official regulation in Russia on cryptocurrency mining. On top of that, illegal use of domestic electricity has caused problems in power grids in the past.
With regulation on mining, Russia can earn a huge amount of revenue through taxes. Some estimates suggest that Russia can generate an additional $2 billion in mining taxes every year. With such a lucrative option at hand, we might not be very far from seeing regulations being imposed on the Russian crypto mining sector. Whichever way things go, Russia remains an important country for the growth and development of cryptocurrency. How Putin takes his stance on the same will be a huge determining factor.
