Russian President Vladimir Putin has again spoken about
cryptocurrencies, noting the “high risks” associated with the virtual
assets. However, the Russian leader has also acknowledged that digital
currencies may have a future and it’s necessary to follow their
development.
Russia’s Putin Still Cautious About Crypto
Russian President Vladimir Putin has made another comment regarding
cryptocurrencies. Speaking at the VTB Capital Investment Forum “Russia
Calling!” 2021, the head of state noted that crypto assets still carry a
lot of serious risks. Quoted by the news portal Life.ru, Putin
elaborated:
As for cryptocurrency, it is prohibited in some
countries. It is not backed by anything, the volatility is high, the
risks are high. I also believe that we need to listen to those who talk
about the high risks.
At the same time, Russia’s strongman did not rule out that there may
be a future for cryptocurrencies. He further emphasized that right now
it is necessary to carefully monitor the whole process as it develops.
Cryptocurrencies are yet to be comprehensively regulated in the
Russian Federation. Although the law “On Digital Financial Assets,”
which went into force in January, provides some clarity regarding
virtual coins and certain related activities like their issuance, many
aspects such as mining and taxation still require regulation through new
legislation.
Bank of Russia remains firmly opposed to the legalization of bitcoin and the like as a means of payment and has recently proposed
to introduce legal liability for such uses. In September, Putin’s press
secretary, Dmitry Peskov, also took a hard stance on the matter, making
it clear that Russia has no reason and is not ready to recognize bitcoin as legal tender.
Putin’s latest comment on cryptocurrencies is not his first this
year. In an interview with CNBC on the sidelines of the Russian Energy
Forum in Moscow this past October, he admitted that decentralized
digital money could one day be employed in oil trade settlements,
although this while remarking that it’s still too early for that. He
accused the United States of undermining its own currency and pointed
out that U.S. dollar-denominated settlements are declining while
countries are scaling down their dollar reserves.
The Kremlin has been going after officials holding cryptocurrency as
part of its efforts to combat corruption in government. In August, the
presidential administration published a decree signed by Putin instructing
several ministries and the central bank to check the declarations filed
by government employees about their digital asset holdings.
source link : https://news.bitcoin.com/putin-warns-cryptocurrencies-carry-risks-admits-they-may-have-future/
