Russian Government Crypto Chief: Mining Regulation Is Our Priority
The Russian government’s crypto working group chairman believes Bitcoin (BTC) mining regulation is now a priority for Moscow.
After years of infighting and neglect, Russian government bodies, ministries, and the Central Bank finally appear close to regulating the crypto sector.
Per the Russian-language media outlet Happy Coin News, the working group’s chair, lawmaker Andreу Lugovoy said Moscow’s “first step in regulation should be crypto mining.”
Lugavoy said politicians and regulators were currently “talking mainly about Bitcoin mining.” He added:
“The regulation of […] altcoins and their various iterations will come later. Anti-moneу laundering and anti-terrorist financing rules will be imposed on the crуptocurrencу sector. As such, privacy coins [such as Monero] will most likely be prohibited, as they are often used for criminal purposes.”
The working groups have been charged with breaking a political deadlock that has effectively left the country with an almost entirely unregulated crypto sector.
The lack of regulations is particularly harmful to the fast-growing crypto mining sector, which has grown exponentially in the past few years.
However, Lugovoy hinted that there was truth in reports last month that the Ministry of Finance, the Central Bank, and the anti-money laundering agency Rosfinmonitoring had “agreed on an approach to regulating cryptocurrencies.” He said:
“The working group has already held 10 meetings with representatives of the banking sector, the energy industry, as well as the crуpto industry, and the scientific community. We have tried to discuss all aspects of this area, as well as ways of legalizing it. It has been a long and painstaking process. But we will see the results of all these meetings very
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