Russia Could Build a Crypto Platform Similar to the Moscow Exchange: Government Official

Anatoly Aksakov, chairman of the Committee on Financial Markets of the State Duma, said that the government is not against the creation of a cryptocurrency trading site in Russia. However, the entity must follow strict central bank regulations and operate similarly to the Moscow Exchange, he said.

Crypto exchanges in Russia under certain conditions

Even though the Russian government, and in particular the Bank of Russia (the country’s central bank), are primarily against the cryptocurrency industry, many locals are on the opposite corner.

Earlier this year, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin claimed that domestic investors held more than 10 trillion rubles ($163 billion) in digital assets. The total number of HODLers was estimated to be around 10 million, or 7% of Russia’s population.

Despite significant interest in crypto, the nation does not have its own exchange, and locals rely on foreign platforms such as Binance, FTX, and Kraken. Shortly after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, however, some trading sites imposed some restrictions. For example, Binance limited its services to citizens whose cryptocurrency holdings exceeded 10,000 EUR.

Amid the controversy, Anatoly Aksakov, a top executive of the lower house of Russia’s Federal Assembly (State Duma), indicated that the launch of a domestic crypto exchange may be taking place. Nonetheless, he added that such an organization should be supervised by a central bank and provide services under the latter’s “strict requirements”.

He also thinks that a potential Russian crypto platform should be based on the standards of the Moscow Exchange (the country’s largest exchange that operates trading markets in equities, bonds, derivatives and precious metals):

“And this division, which will work within the framework of a respected organization with great traditions, accustomed to actively interacting with the Central Bank, will, in my opinion, best cope with the task of conducting operations with cryptocurrency “

Crypto Shouldn’t Weaken the Ruble

Regulation in the cryptocurrency sector has been a highly controversial topic in Russia over the past few months. While the central bank insists on a complete ban on all digital asset endeavors, the Ministry of Economy feels that it is a more appropriate move for the industry to introduce rules.

Last month, Aksakov proposed a bill that outlaws digital assets as unsuitable for a payment method. In his view, this approach would preserve the supremacy of the country’s national currency – the ruble:

“The ruble is the official monetary unit (currency) of the Russian Federation. The above article prohibits the introduction of other monetary units or monetary surrogates into the territory of the Russian Federation.”