On Saturday, July 16, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed into law a national ban on using digital assets for payments.
The action comes after the Russian government and central bank have debated on what they should do about cryptocurrency.
Russia Bans Crypto
In January, the Bank of Russia proposed a ban on cryptocurrency for payments or investments, according to Engadget.
In February, Russia’s Finance Ministry submitted a draft of crypto regulations to the government, which allows for investing in digital assets like Ethereum or Bitcoin, but not using them to purchase things.
The law was published on the Russian parliament website.
It states that the government has “prohibited to transfer or accept digital financial assets as a consideration for transferred goods, rendered services, performed works,” and other ways that allow one to assume payment for goods by a digital financial asset, except as otherwise provided by federal laws.
Also Read: Russia’s Energy Suppliers Share How At-Home Crypto Mining Can Be Prevented! Here are Their Plans
Russia has been in the crypto debate since the country invaded Ukraine in early 2022. As a result, massive crypto companies like Binance and Coinbase said they would comply with US or EU laws on limiting Russians using crypto exchanges.
Crypto legislation in Russia is very complicated since the country’s central bank previously called for a ban on Bitcoin mining and crypto transactions, but in early 2022, Russia’s Finance Ministry said that it would be necessary to allow cryptocurrency technology to develop.
President Putin had positive comments about Bitcoin mining back in January when he said that the country had…
