According to reports, the central bank of Russia is looking to ban crypto investments within the country. The transcontinental country will also prevent local investors from injecting funds to the digital assets space.
Russia appears to be taking this hardline approach over concerns that digital currencies can aid money laundering or finance terrorism. In addition, the country also says crypto poses substantial risks to its financial stability. However, should Russian lawmakers approve the crypto ban, it would only affect prospective crypto investments – not past purchases.
Russia has been highly vocal in its stance against crypto in the past, sometimes even bordering on controversy. It also previously considered imposing a ban, but never acted upon it. Now, new reports suggest that the nation’s governing bank is engaging experts and market players on how best to implement the ban.
On Monday, December 13th, Russia’s central bank issued a new directive to all mutual funds to desist from investing in crypto. The directive was broad, banning crypto investments ‘directly’ or ‘indirectly.’ Meanwhile, the central Russian banking system is working on a ruble-backed central bank digital currency (CBDC).
Furthermore, Russia’s planned crypto ban comes some months after the Chinese government instituted a sweeping crackdown on its local crypto industry. The reason given by the East Asian nation at the time was that crypto mining was harmful to the environment.
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