It was reported on Monday that the Russian Finance Ministry will consider the Central Bank's proposals on cryptocurrencies, if they are not in contradiction with their perspective on the digital assets regulation.
The dispute between the government bodies began on Friday, when the Finance Ministry presented a bill that was contrary to the Central Bank's requests to ban cryptocurrencies.
The Central Bank is strongly opposed to the use of cryptocurrencies due to the threat to financial sustainability. Meanwhile, The Finance Ministry proposed a bill that allows the use of cryptocurrencies as an investment tool and regulates their use. The main idea of the Finance Ministry is to legitimize the digital currencies market.
At the same time, this strategy has its own limitations. For example, one of the advantages of cryptocurrency operations was their anonymity. In accordance to the new program, which is proposed by the Russian Finance Ministry:
- Client identification will be necessary for the cryptocurrencies buy-sell operations;
- It will be obligatory for foreign cryptocurrency exchanges in Russia to obtain a license;
- Financial literacy tests will be introduced to determine the amount of money one can invest (citizens who pass the test will be allowed to invest in currencies up to 600,000 rubles ($7,853) per year. Those who fail the test will be limited to 50,000 rubles per year).
The central bank is also against cryptocurrency mining, when powerful computers compete in solving complex mathematical puzzles. The bank also warns against inefficient energy use and the environmental impact of mining, while the Finance Ministry prefers to allow mining on a taxation basis.
