It should be noted that the Central Bank's position on cryptocurrencies became known even before the report was released. This was reported by Meduza, which in turn received information from Bloomberg. According to journalists, the head of the Central Bank Elvira Nabiullina to support a complete ban on interaction with cryptocurrencies in Russia was convinced by representatives of the Federal Security Service. This would allegedly deprive the opposition, "undesirable organizations" and media outlets of this type of financing - "foreign agents".


What will happen to cryptocurrencies in Russia?

According to Elizaveta Danilova, director of the Financial Stability Department of the Bank of Russia, the growing popularity of cryptocurrencies in the country carries risks to the well-being of citizens and financial stability. The main message of the Central Bank’s report is that crypto is widely used in illegal activities, so its adoption allegedly does not bode well for the country.

Here is a recording of the speech in which representatives of the Bank of Russia voiced the position of the financial institution.

In general, the essence of the report can be divided into several points:

• A proposal to ban the mining, issuance, trading and circulation of digital assets in Russia in any form. In other words, cryptocurrency exchanges and exchanges would also fall under this ban;
• Creation of a mechanism that would help the Central Bank to effectively block the sale/purchase of cryptocurrencies for national currency;
• Organising sanctions for those who would evade the Central Bank’s new requirements;
• A complete ban on crypto investments for Russian banks.

It is worth noting that storage of cryptocurrencies by citizens is not going to be banned. According to Danilova, who voiced the clarification after the report was released, the Central Bank only wants to make sure that investors do not use Russian infrastructure for crypto transactions. However, citizens will be allowed to hold digital assets in foreign jurisdictions, Reuters reported. Accordingly, it appears to be possible to interact with foreign platforms for trading digital assets without any problems.

As a reminder, the news of the high probability of a potential ban on Bitcoin and altcoin transactions in Russia was no surprise. As recently as last year, there were rumours that the Central Bank was preparing to publish new regulations for the crypto market. As you can see, bankers want to curb the rapid development of the cryptosphere in Russia.

Meanwhile, the Russian Federation is one of the leading countries in the world in terms of the volume of cryptotransactions made by its citizens. As of November 2021, their volume exceeded the $5 billion mark last year. In addition, Russia has the world’s third-largest hash rate of miners on its territory, which means the popularity of cryptocurrency mining in the country is at a very high level.

A negative news backdrop this week is also being created in the US. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) head Gary Gensler said that cryptocurrency exchanges are likely to be subject to stricter regulation in the foreseeable future. Here’s his rejoinder, cited by Decrypt.

I have asked staff to explore all avenues to include these platforms in investor protection. If trading platforms don’t enter the regulated space, it will be another year of investor vulnerability.

SEC head Gary Gensler

The crypto market’s reaction to the news has been generally negative, with BTC falling to a new local bottom at least today. Bitcoin is trading around $38,759 this evening, while the daily low was $37,710. It is important to note that immediately after the publication of the report, the market started rising, which means that overall the news is unlikely to have had a significant impact on the niche.

Bitcoin 15-minute chart

Altcoins in the top 10 in terms of capitalisation are showing an even bigger loss this week. According to experts, Bitcoin may well miss its absolute bottom as of today.

Top ten cryptocurrencies by market capitalisation

Additional pressure not only on the cryptosphere, but also on all other markets is also coming from the US Federal Reserve’s new policy of winding down stimulus for the US economy. Analysts are therefore rather cautious about the outlook for the markets.


We believe that, in general, the innovations are unlikely to affect the cryptocurrency market in Russia. Yes, banks will definitely not be able to invest in coins now, but no one prohibits citizens from storing digital assets on foreign platforms. Accordingly, exchanges are unlikely to block users with Russian citizenship.

In addition, the prospect of a ban on mining in Russia - especially domestic mining - raises questions. Obviously, the authorities are unlikely to check the flats of everyone in the country for video cards. Besides, you can mine Bitcoin and other coins even with the help of a regular PC.


What do you think about it? Share your opinion in our Millionaire Crypto Chat. There we will discuss other important developments that affect the world of decentralized assets in one way or another.