Russia to Enact Laws to Regulate Crypto Exchange Action; Profiles Use of Cryptocurrency to Bypass Sanctions

The government of Russia is preparing to regulate the establishment and action of crypto exchanges, abandoning its earlier proposal of the creation of a unique national platform. Anatoly Aksakov, head of the Russian State Duma Financial Markets Committee, stated that crypto exchanges could help Russia to bypass sanctions by using crypto to settle international payments.

Russia to Enact Cryptocurrency Exchange Rules Soon

The government of Russia will focus on establishing a framework to regulate the establishment and action of crypto exchanges, according to recent statements of Anatoly Aksakov, head of the Russian State Duma Financial Markets Committee. The legislative body abandoned the earlier proposal of creating a unique national cryptocurrency exchange.

The proposal of a unique exchange presents a fundamental flaw: it might be targeted by Western sanctions at some time in the future, Aksakov explained.

In a recent interview on Izvestia, a Russian magazine, Aksakov explained:

Exchanges will be used for cross-border settlements, including bypassing sanctions restrictions, so new restrictions may be introduced against them. At the same time, other organizations will constantly be able to appear.

The idea of a unique cryptocurrency exchange was also rejected by the Ministry of Finance of Russia. Ivan Chebeskov, director of the financial policy department of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation, favored the establishment of comprehensive rules for cryptocurrency exchanges instead.

Profiling Exchanges to Bypass Sanctions

Russian officials have also clearly stated that one of the functions of these exchanges might be to facilitate the payment of imports and bypass the Western economic sanctions enacted against Russia as a consequence of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

Alexei Guznov, deputy chairman of the Bank of Russia, stated:

Most likely, these will be organizations that will help in the interaction between exporters and importers and in cross-border settlements in digital currencies. Through them, Russian companies will be able to pay, for example, for parallel imports.

Other sources also reinforce the possibility that regulating these cryptocurrency exchanges might bring to the Russian financial system. Alexey Tarapovsky, the founder of Anderida Financial Group, told Izveztia that Western businesses are very interested in making these kinds of payments, already processing about $10 billion in digital currencies each year.

Tarapovsky declared:

Such platforms will help national companies conduct international settlements with crypto against the backdrop of sanctions.

On May 19, Aksakov also stated that the digital ruble law was likely to be passed in June after being approved in its first discussion.

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