Russia, known for its opposition to cryptocurrencies, especially before the start of the Ukrainian war in 2022, started to warm up to this area after the sanctions. Anton Siluanov, the country’s finance minister, stated in a statement that cryptocurrencies should not be banned.

“We need to regulate market”

Speaking to Tass, the Russian state news agency, Siluanov stated that he thinks that the central bank and the finance ministry will reach an agreement on this issue in a short time and used the following statements:

“I am sure that (the ministry) and the Central Bank will come to an agreement. This issue has been discussed for several years. We cannot prohibit the circulation of cryptocurrencies. Therefore, we need to regulate this (market). I am sure that we will find a solution.”

“We need to talk about what can and cannot”

On the other hand, Siluanov also touched on the mining issue and said, “We need to talk about what can and cannot be done with cryptocurrency. We have now agreed, with the Central Bank, to discuss the issue of mining. We must talk about whether (mined coins) can be used to make settlements within the country and in international settlements.”

While the finance minister used the term “cryptocurrencies”, it was noteworthy that he did not say Bitcoin or that the agency reported the news in this way.

Russia stands out as one of the countries that have carried the tests on central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) to the most advanced level.

After China banned all cryptocurrency activities in the country in 2021, most of the miners migrated to nearby countries such as Russia and Kazakhstan, and then to the US, where many companies were located.