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them the Central Bank, began to report that the issue of regulating cryptocurrencies, frozen since the spring, had moved off the ground.
First, Deputy Finance Minister Alexei Moiseev, in an interview with Rossiya 24, said that the Central Bank, which had previously categorically refused to meet halfway on this issue, "rethought" its position due to the fact that "the situation has changed." According to him, the Ministry of Finance is also rethinking its approach. Judging by Moiseev’s statement, the point is to allow people, on the one hand, to make cross-border transfers using cryptocurrencies, under the conditions of tough sanctions against Russian banks, and “on the other hand, to put [these transfers] under control so that there is no laundering, payment for drugs and so on.
The Central Bank confirmed that they are indeed working with the Ministry of Finance on the issue of legalising cryptocurrencies for cross-border settlements. “At the same time, it is important to emphasise that we are not talking about the legalisation of cryptocurrency as a means of payment on the territory of our country, as well as the legalisation of crypto-exchanges and crypto-exchangers within Russia,” the regulator’s press service specified.
On August 30, at a strategic session on the development of the domestic financial system, which was held by Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, the Central Bank and the Ministry of Finance made a joint presentation (the document is at the disposal of The Bell). It lists key issues and options for addressing them. Among the proposals are those that the ministry and the regulator call change/disrupt. Such measures include everything related to cryptocurrencies and digital financial assets (DFA). Namely: introduction of the digital ruble and interaction with digital currencies of other Central Banks; use of DFA and cryptocurrencies in international settlements.
However, what exactly the financial authorities propose to do, the presentation does not say. So far, there is a feeling that they do not have a clear plan: two federal officials told The Bell that, despite public statements, there was no actual agreement between the Central Bank and the Ministry of Finance. Another interlocutor of The Bell in the government believes that the first thing the parties will really be able to agree on is the legalisation of mining, which the Central Bank agreed to back in June.
A lot of people think about cryptocurrencies in the largest Russian state-owned bank, which was the first to fall under sanctions. Sberbank's presentation for the same strategy session (also available to The Bell) sums up the disappointing results of a six-month war for the financial sector: 71% of the Russian banking sector under sanctions settlements in the national currencies of different "friendly" countries - even in yuan - carry different problems and risks and banks under sanctions cannot normally conduct settlements even in them One of the ways to solve problems with settlements is to legalise the CFA and cryptocurrencies, Sberbank concludes. The digital ruble project from the
91 RUSSIA Country Report October 2022 www.intellinews.com