by The Central Bank of Russia maintains its position and encourages Russians to avoid cryptocurrency. Despite the current economic crisis the country is facing after recent sanctions from governments and international organizations, the country’s Central Bank has not turned to digital currency to dodge the numerous sanctions.
The Central Bank Of Russia Has Refused To Depend On Cryptocurrency
Since the beginning of the Ukrainian assault, the ruble’s value has fallen drastically for various reasons. In addition to the numerous sanctions imposed by NATO, the European Union, and other international organizations, the apex has also melted out restrictions on its citizenry. One of such restrictions is preventing them from sending money out of the country since the country cannot access funds in international banks. Recently, Russian banks were banned from using the SWIFT payment method, which allows them to make an international transfer.
As a result, citizens of the country are afraid the value of savings and assets will plummet. For some people, the cryptocurrency market might give access to foreign exchange opportunities where they can purchase stablecoins tied to the dollar’s value or go for popular digital assets such as BTC. At the start of March, Arcane Research reported that the USDT/RUB trading pair had hit a transaction volume ATH of over $35 million. Also, there was a comparable rise in the BTC/RUB pair.
This could be since Russians are using cryptocurrency to safeguard against currency depreciation. However, there is another consequence of this action of the citizens on the price valuation of the ruble. The selling pressure will further depress the value of the nation’s currency, which the central bank is striving to avert.
Maria Telegina, chief of Dept. of Fintech at the central bank, stated, “The Central Bank presently maintains the stance that was previously declared and publicized on its official website.” Telegina said this in response to the apex bank’s stand on cryptocurrency in light of the escalating sanctions and financial hardship.
The Central Bank Wants Cryptocurrency And Mining To Be Banned
The bank published a paper titled “Cryptocurrencies: Patterns, Risks, and Policies” early this year. In the paper, the bank raised various worries regarding digital currencies and crypto mining, ranging from environmental impact to their usage in financial fraud. The Apex Bank proposed that the digital asset and mining operations be prohibited. This will put to rest fears that the government will resort to digital currencies to avoid penalties.
In the heat of the crisis in Eastern Europe, several organizations have resorted to sanctions to persuade the President of Russia, Putin, to pull out his army from Ukraine. Unfortunately, there are fears that these restrictions have a crucial flaw. The limits do not cover digital currencies. The European Union plans to regulate cryptocurrencies and has urged several exchange platforms to ban Russian users. However, the popular exchanges refused to ban them as they have not broken any law on their platform.
