Although Russia has started to ban the use of Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies in international payments, it still maintains its cautious approach.
At this point, the Governor of the Central Bank of Russia, Elvira Nabiullina, made new statements regarding Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies at the “Central Bank of Russia Finance Congress” in St. Petersburg.
Accordingly, the head of the Central Bank of Russia announced that he does not plan to include Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies as reserve assets.
Elvira Nabiullina stated that due to the volatility and risks of cryptocurrencies, she does not consider including them in the reserve and keeping them.
“When we consider our attitude towards Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies as risky and volatile assets, we, as a central bank, absolutely do not consider investing in them. Because cryptocurrencies are quite volatile and risky.
We continue to oppose the use of cryptocurrencies in payments within the country. We say ‘yes’ for foreign economic activity, and ‘yes’ for qualified investors, especially as an investment target. In other words, we are not against their use in foreign economic activities, especially those that are considered investment vehicles.
However, we are still against using them as a means of payment.”
At this point, Russia continues to oppose the use of cryptocurrencies, which are not yet properly regulated, as a means of payment domestically, while only allowing qualified investors to hold cryptocurrencies for investment purposes and cross-border exchange users to access them.
*This is not investment advice.
