Russian financial organizations have approached the authorities with a proposal to adjust the approach to regulating the cryptocurrency market. According to bankers, it is impossible to ignore the millions of citizens already working with cryptocurrencies.
Experts estimate that there are about 7 million investors in Russia, and the total volume of transactions exceeds $180 billion, which is equivalent to almost half of the country’s annual export revenues.
Banks call to recognize the crypto market as established
Participants of the “Finopolis” forum emphasized that cryptocurrency has ceased to be an experiment and has become part of the financial system. In their opinion, the market has formed and is developing independently of state policy, which means it is time to create conditions for its civilized growth.
Bank representatives noted that millions of Russians actively use digital assets for storing funds, investments, and international transfers. Attempts to restrict this segment, they believe, will only lead to accelerated capital outflow abroad, where such instruments have long been legalized.
The Central Bank plans regulation and new investor criteria
The Central Bank reported that it expects the adoption of a law on regulation next year, and a year later amendments should come into force providing for liability for illegal operations.
The regulator proposes to introduce a regime that will allow trading crypto-assets only for investors with a high level of capital and confirmed income. This approach, according to the Central Bank, will help limit risks and minimize potential losses in the volatile market.
It is planned that all crypto operations will be conducted exclusively through licensed platforms, and activity without permission will be considered a violation and entail liability.
Banks call to expand the circle of participants
Representatives of a large state bank believe that it is not enough to limit participation to only wealthy investors. According to them, the status proposed by the Central Bank can be obtained by no more than 40 thousand people, while the real number of crypto market participants in the country is millions.
‘These users have already made their choice in favor of digital assets. You can’t just ignore this fact. The gap between several tens of thousands and millions of active investors is too great,’ one of the discussion participants noted.
He emphasized that Russia is losing ground compared to neighboring countries, where legal platforms aimed at Russian users have already been created. According to him, the lack of transparent rules forces investors to move to other jurisdictions, which weakens the country’s financial system.
Not to drive the market into the shadows
Forum participants agreed that excessively strict regulation will lead to the opposite effect. Instead of legal control, the state will get a shadow market, deprived of tax revenues and transparency.
‘You can’t pass laws that actually make millions of people violators. It is much more effective to create clear and safe rules for all market participants,’ one of the speakers said.
He added that prohibitive measures do not stop the development of crypto—on the contrary, users simply move to where they are given more freedom and opportunities.
What’s next?
In the next two years, the authorities plan to form a unified strategy for regulating digital assets. The main goal is a balance between control and freedom, which will allow the market to be legalized without losing investor trust.
Banks are confident: to keep capital inside the country, it is necessary to create conditions for the legal work of all investors, not just large ones.
‘Cryptocurrencies are already part of the modern economy. It is important for the state not to fight them, but to learn to work together,’ one of the forum participants summarized.
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