Traditionally, we will start with an explanation. The topic of cryptocurrencies is being actively discussed by Russian officials at various levels. In mid-October, Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke about digital assets. This happened during a conversation with CNBC journalists.

In general, Putin called cryptocurrencies unstable and made it clear that it was “too early” to use them for oil contracts. That said, the coins are suitable for sending value to other nations. Here is the Russian president’s quote.

Cryptocurrency is not yet secured by anything. It has a place to exist and as a means of payment can be used, of course, yes, but trade in oil, say, or other primary materials and energy sources – still, I think it is a little early to talk about it.

What is happening with cryptocurrencies in Russia?

Estimates of the cash flows associated with the crypto industry in the Russian Federation suggest that the capitalisation of the domestic crypto market ranges from 20 to 40 trillion roubles, or from 280 to 550 billion dollars. Khitrov suggested that the digital asset business could bring the state up to 284 billion roubles or $4 billion in taxes annually. True, to do so, the Russian government needs to set up the right infrastructure to regulate crypto.

Unfortunately, despite the passage of a law on digital assets by the Russian State Duma, the official status of Bitcoin and altcoins remains undetermined. Because of this, many companies and startups are forced to either operate illegally or migrate to other jurisdictions. Here’s what Khitrov said about this in an interview with Cointelegraph.

Without regulation that takes into account the interests of the cryptocurrency community, cryptoservices will not operate legally. It is not profitable for businesses to come out of the shadows. We know many crypto exchanges with Russian roots, but, unfortunately, these exchanges are either not officially registered in Russia, or are simply based in other jurisdictions.

Sergey Khitrov, founder of Blockchain Life

The creator of Blockchain Life has long been in a dialogue with various government agencies in the hope of making the Russian crypto-business legal in Russia. So far, however, no consensus has been reached, with domestic crypto-investors preferring to “walk away” from taxation without taking the initiative to address the aforementioned issue.

Fortunately, there are some positive developments. For example, the day before, online broker Tinkoff Investments announced an investigation into the potential of cryptocurrency investment vehicles. Dmitry Panchenko, head of the platform, confirmed that investing in digital assets is a hot topic within the organisation, but it is too early to talk about any projects.

Bitcoin mining is also outlawed in Russia for now

Panchenko stressed that even though regulators are not yet allowing banks and brokers to provide crypto investment services, Russians are still actively trading crypto on foreign platforms, with more than $15 billion worth of crypto assets on exchanges.

One way or another, people are accessing cryptocurrency and doing so outside of the country. It would be potentially correct to provide such services within the Russian legal system. This is not legally possible today, but the issue needs more discussion and study.

Russia and digital currencies


We believe that a clearer treatment of cryptocurrencies in terms of the legal framework in Russia would really benefit the state - and in different ways. In the meantime, everything is limited with vague definitions and regular quotations of officials saying that ruble is the only legal tender in Russia. However, it is already clear.

What do you think about it? Share your opinion in our millionaire cryptochat. There we will discuss other serious events that affect the world of decentralized assets.