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In a surprising strategy shift, Russia's legislative body has abandoned its original plan of developing a national cryptocurrency exchange, opting to regulate existing ones, according to recent updates in Russian media.
Colin Wu, a prominent figure in the blockchain world, first brought this intriguing development to light. He drew attention to the revelation through his Monday morning tweet, sharing a translation of a Russian news article that clearly showed Russia's changed standpoint on cryptocurrency exchanges.
The Russian Ministry of Finance is stepping away from the idea of a single national crypto-exchange, the local news report quoted Ivan Chebeskov, the Director of the Financial Policy Department of the Russian Federation's Ministry of Finance. Rather than forging ahead with state-led crypto-exchange plans, the Russian government will focus on crafting a regulatory framework for private firms to establish such platforms.
Supporting this statement, Anatoly Aksakov, the Chair of the Financial Markets Committee in Russia's lower house of Parliament, stated that instead of founding a singular national cryptocurrency exchange, the emphasis will now be placed on creating a set of guidelines for the inception and operation of these infrastructures.
Aksakov further elaborated that the new legislation would pave the way for cryptocurrency exchanges to handle international transactions, though he stopped short of specifying which cryptocurrencies would be permitted. However, he did imply that there may be new regulations imposed.
This development comes after years of uncertainty, as the Russian government's stance on digital currencies has been inconsistent, to say the least. In stark contrast to last year when the Bank of Russia considered banning cryptocurrency transactions outright, this was soon followed by the Ministry of Finance suggesting a regulatory framework for Bitcoin and President Vladimir Putin endorsing a law that banned digital asset transactions. Nevertheless, this move hints at a more stable stance on cryptocurrencies and could pave the way for Russia to harness stablecoins to circumvent sanctions.
