Top Russian MPs Dismiss Central Bank’s Calls for a Crypto Ban
The Russian political talk shop is open – or at least it is for crypto, with many leading lawmakers hitting back at the Central Bank’s calls last week for a blanket ban on cryptoassets and token mining.
As reported yesterday, the Central Bank has won some small amount of conditional support for some of its proposals – none of which are particularly new, as the body and its Governor, the arch crypto-skeptic Elvira Nabiullina, have been calling upon Moscow to issue a ban for several years.
But crypto, mining, and tokenization have many allies in the corridors of power in Moscow, and international media coverage of the bank’s ban intentions have drawn flak.
The news agency Tass quoted Anton Gorelkin, the Deputy Chairman of the parliament’s Committee on Information Policy, Information Technology and Communications, as describing the bank’s call for a ban as “sensational,” but conceded that it could be a launching point for “a broad discussion” on crypto regulation. He explained:
“I don’t think that the ban on cryptocurrencies […] is the right decision. Yes, many of the arguments given by the regulator are reasonable and correct from the point of view of economic security. But I share the position of experts […] who see a future in blockchain technologies and believe that a ban on cryptocurrencies would negatively affect the IT development of Russia.”
Anatoly Aksakov, the head of the parliamentary committee that deals with financial markets and the chief broker of crypto legislation, also played down talk of an outright ban, stating:
“Various options are being discussed and will continue to be discussed. It is too early to say that the committee has come to an unequivocal position on this issue.”
He said that his committee would
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