Russia’s cryptocurrency landscape is becoming increasingly confusing. On the one hand, the government is against giving a legal framework to crypto and is instead working on its CBDC plans. On the other hand, different units of the Russian government are coming together to form a crypto ‘working group’ that will insect, analyze, and monitor cryptocurrency developments in the country.
Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council, Nikolai Zhuravlev, confirmed the formation of the working group and added that Russia is not ruling out cryptocurrencies from its economic landscape. The goal of the working group will be to arrive at a middle ground between pro-crypto and anti-crypto lobbies.
As in many other countries, Russia has prominent voices on both sides. However, people in positions of power have traditionally been against the idea of legalizing cryptocurrency. At the same time, Russia does not want to fall behind other countries in cryptocurrency research and development, especially considering their long-standing economic warfare with the United States of America.
Many government officials and top leaders in the United States of America have spoken about the danger of Russian infiltration into the American economy. Most of these infiltrations come from unlicensed, unregulated crypto users and entities. Russian officials deny all such claims but admit to the fact that cryptocurrency is largely unregulated in the country. That leaves scope for illegal crypto activities both inside and outside Russia. How the working group deals with these issues will determine the future of cryptocurrency in Russia to a great extent.
