According to Yuri Chikhanchin, the agency’s head, the Russian financial watchdog Rosfinmonitoring is prepared to accept the use of cryptocurrencies in cross-border transactions. The declaration strengthens the argument for legalizing international cryptocurrency payments in Russia amid financial sanctions imposed due to its invasion of Ukraine.
The Federal Financial Monitoring Service of the Russian Federation, also known as Rosfinmonitoring, fully accepts that cryptocurrencies can be employed for settlements with foreign partners, Yury Chikhanchin, director of the regulatory body has stated.
Speaking in the Federation Council, the upper house of Russian parliament, Chikhanchin emphasized that payments with digital assets inside Russia are prohibited by law. The country’s current legislation bans “money surrogates.”
However, under certain conditions, such payments may well be used in international trade, Chikhanchin said. The high-ranking official believes this can help businesses oriented towards exporting Russian products. Quoted by the Bits.media crypto news outlet, he also noted:
If the supply chain is controlled, then this is quite acceptable.
Yury Chikhanchin further emphasized that in order to take advantage of cryptocurrency payments, Russian companies need to know to whom exactly they are exchanging the digital currencies.
The regulator disclosed that his office had created and already made available a unique information system for monitoring cryptocurrency transactions. It has already been used in some investigations and enables financial authorities to identify both the sender and the recipient of funds.
The topic of cryptocurrencies’ future in Russia is still up for discussion. After the law “On Digital Financial Assets” only partially regulated the cryptocurrency market, a new bill “On Digital Currency” is anticipated to introduce more thorough regulations for crypto transactions.
As Western sanctions against Russia for its military intervention in Ukraine have become more severe, the idea of using cryptocurrencies in international transactions is gaining support. At the same time, the majority of Moscow’s government institutions concur that the ruble should continue to be the only form of legal tender in the country.
While the Bank of Russia, a strong opponent of the free circulation of cryptocurrencies, recently signaled it could back the legalization of crypto payments that don’t penetrate Russia’s financial system, the lower house of Russian parliament recently adopted a law banning domestic payments with digital financial assets.
