The head of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, Elvira Nabiullina, considers the concept of regulation of cryptocurrencies proposed by the Ministry of Finance risky, she said about this stated at the briefing. According to her, the Central Bank has already sent to the government its position on the concept of the Ministry of Finance.
“The main conclusion is that the approaches proposed by the government do not yet allow leveling the risks that we see, but at the same time they create a new threat,” Nabiullina said.
The Central Bank is embarrassed that the concept prepared by the Ministry of Finance refers to the possible advantages of legalizing cryptocurrencies. “Even more embarrassing is that the concept of the Ministry of Finance does not yet respond to the risks that we indicate,” Nabiullina said. According to her, the regulator sees threats in the expansion of the cryptocurrency market for the welfare of citizens, money circulation and financial stability, as well as the risks of using cryptocurrencies for illegal transactions.
Nabiullina added that the government did not discuss the concept of the development of the cryptocurrency market with the Central Bank before its publication. “We will do our best to convince the government and go into more detail about our arguments. I rely on common sense here, so we don’t have any “plan B,” Nabiullina concluded.
According to the concept of the Ministry of Finance, all operations with cryptocurrencies will be carried out through Russian banks. The identities of crypto wallet holders will also be established, and clients will be divided into qualified and non-qualified investors. The government supported the position of the Ministry of Finance. The corresponding bill should be prepared by February 18 by the Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank.
