Bank Of Russia Calls For Ban On Crypto Mining And Trading

Assessment: Following the 2021 arrival of China’s central bank’s digital yuan, non-central bank cryptocurrencies were immediately outlawed …

Like many governments, Russian financial regulators have had a complicated relationship with cryptocurrencies. Back in October, Russian leader Vladimir Putin praised cryptocurrencies as a possible tool to help dismantle the global dollar-based financial system.

“and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.” Rev. 13:17

That didn’t stop Russia from barring the use of cryptocurrencies for payment. And now the country’s financial regulators are pushing for a China-style ban on crypto mining, something that could disrupt the international network supporting popular cryptocurrencies like bitcoin and ethereum. In a report published Thursday, the Russian Central Bank called for a full ban on crypto. Its findings were presented during an online press conference led by Elizaveta Danilova, the director of the Bank of Russia’s Financial Stability Department.

The report claimed cryptocurrencies have become widely used in illegal activities like fraud (in the west, they have become closely associated with ransomware attacks like the one that shut down the Colonial Pipeline and JBS). Because of this, Russia needs new laws that would effectively ban any crypto-related activities in the country.

This ban should apply to exchanges, over-the-counter trading and peer-to-peer trading, the report said.