The Central Bank of Russia Is Taking the Lead on Legislative Initiatives Regarding the Regulation of Digital Assets
The State Duma, which is the lower house of parliament, is going to be the recipient of a legislative package that the Central Bank of the Russian Federation (CBR) plans to submit regarding the regulation of digital financial assets (DFAs). In the context of the law that is currently in effect in Russia, the term DFA refers to coins and tokens that are issued by a certain entity, as opposed to cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin.

Olga Skorobogatova, Deputy Chairman of the bank, highlighted during Finopolis, a symposium dedicated to financial innovations, that the suggestions seek to accomplish three primary goals: enhancing taxation and eliminating tax arbitrage; building exchange platforms; and regulating smart contracts.

The executive of CBR brought attention to the significant interest that exists in the establishment of DFAs in Russia. She was quoted by the cryptocurrency news outlet Forklog as saying, "We feel that this is a very excellent new tool for financial market participants." "We believe that this is a very good new instrument for financial market participants."

Skorobogatova disclosed that the regulatory body in charge of monetary policy is in the process of evaluating nine applications submitted by businesses interested in obtaining a license to issue and circulate digital financial assets. She made the observation that Sberbank, Atomyze, and Lighthouse were the three "information system operators" who had already been granted permission to do that.

The Bank of Russia continues to express its opposition to the legalization of cryptocurrency settlements.
In the meantime, CBR Governor Elvira Nabiullina made a statement before the Duma in which she claimed that the Bank of Russia opposes the use of private cryptocurrencies in settlements, despite the fact that the Bank of Russia favors the development of digital financial assets. She also insisted, as reported by the Tass news agency, that digital financial assets are not restricted to just cryptocurrency alone and emphasized:

Our stance that private cryptocurrencies, for which it is not obvious who and how is responsible, which are opaque and involve high risks of volatility, should not be utilized in settlements has not changed, and we continue to stand by this view.

More than a year has passed since discussions over the status of cryptocurrencies and the regulation of the cryptocurrency industry in Russia began taking place. The CBR has always taken a tough position on issues, and in January they suggested putting a complete ban on operations like mining and trading that are connected to the issue.

However, as a result of sanctions imposed because of the conflict in Ukraine, particularly limits on international payments, its position has become more flexible. In September, the monetary authority and the finance ministry came to the conclusion that it would be impossible for Russia to function normally in the current environment without being able to make international payments using cryptocurrencies.