Russia continues to send mixed signals about the legal status of cryptocurrencies, after a senior politician has now demanded that the country officially start crypto trading through one of the country’s largest exchanges.
Accordingly, Anatoly Aksakov, the chairman of the parliamentary Banking and Finance Committee in the Duma, suggests that the Moscow Stock Exchange (MOEX) is the best trading venue for launching a regulated crypto exchange.
During a press conference, Aksakov had expressly emphasized that a national crypto exchange must meet the strict requirements of the Russian Central Bank, as the Prime news agency reported today, July 7.
In this regard, the politician stated that the MOEX would be best suited for building a crypto trading platform that is able to meet the full catalog of demands of the Central Bank, because the exchange is already working closely with the influential authority.
“The crypto department – which would work as part of a prestigious organization with a long tradition and close exchange with the Central Bank – would be in the best position to do an excellent job in dealing with cryptocurrencies,” as Aksakov explains.
The politician’s words come just days after MOEX announced last week that it will take legal action against European Union (EU) financial sanctions to protect the interests of its investors. The Moscow Stock Exchange was severely hit by package of sanctions against Russia and even had to stop its operation for a month.
Established stock exchanges have recently been venturing more and more into trading cryptocurrencies and related investment products. For example, the Canadian Toronto Stock Exchange caused a sensation in 2021 when it listed the world’s first Bitcoin index fund (ETF). European stock exchanges such as Deutsche Börse have also launched several crypto investment products in the meantime.
However, the current developments in Russia are causing additional confusion, because the Central Bank of Russia has so far vehemently opposed the opening of a regulated crypto exchange.
“Cryptocurrencies should not be traded on organized marketplaces, because they are far too volatile and risky for potential investors as investment products,” as the head of the Central Bank Elvira Nabiullina warned last month. A deputy governor of the Bank of Russia had already hit the same mark last year and demanded that cryptocurrency trading should only be possible via international platforms such as Binance.
As previously reported, despite these restrictions, the Russian population is quite actively trading cryptocurrencies. For example, even the Kremlin reported in April that the Russians own a total of $ 130 billion in crypto assets.
