Russian Central Bank Governor Makes Fresh Call for ‘Crypto Ban’
The Russian Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina has renewed her calls for Moscow to issue a nationwide crypto ban, blocking traders from buying and selling coins on Russian soil.
Per the Russian media outlet RBC, Nabiullina told journalists at a press conference that she wants to “ban settlements made in cryptocurrencies between residents” outside the so-called experimental legal regime (ELR).
Russian Crypto Ban – Still on the Table?
The ELR, policed by the Central Bank, is a regulatory sandbox that the bank uses to allow certain Russian firms to buy and sell goods, using crypto as a payment tool.
The bank also appears to want to use the ELR as a mechanism for Russian crypto miners to sell their coins to global buyers.
In recent days, the bank has suggested that it is prepared to allow “qualified investors” to trade crypto within the confines of the sandbox.
But Nabiullina’s recent comments suggest she has lost none of her famous crypto-skepticism. The long-serving Governor has previously called for total bans on crypto exchanges and token trading.
The bank even drafted a bill calling for a total ban on all forms of crypto trading and ownership, as well as crypto mining.
Sanctions regimes have forced her to change her stand, however. With Russian companies and banks forced out of the SWIFT messaging network and dollar-denominated trade, many companies now use tokens like Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) to trade with overseas partners.
But Nabiullina’s latest comments show she wants to ensure that the general public does not use crypto. These echo her previous calls to keep “private cryptocurrencies” out “of the Russian economy.”
‘Criminal Liability’
Nabiullina told journalists that Moscow should introduce criminal “liability” for anyone caught “violating the ban.”
“We maintain our old position that cryptocurrencies should not be allowed as a means of payment. So we propose introducing a ban on settlements in cryptocurrencies between residents [of Russia] outside the ELR. We don’t only propose introducing a ban, but also establishing liability for violating the ban.”
Russian Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina
Nabiullina claimed, however, that “it was time to take a step forward” in “relations with cryptocurrencies.” She said that Moscow must “build a regulatory environment” that would give “particularly qualified” investors the right to “invest in cryptocurrencies on the Russian market.” In recent days, some have suggested that the ELR could team up with the Moscow Exchange to launch crypto trading products for these “particularly qualified” investors.
‘Super-qualified Investors’ Will Be Able to Trade Crypto
In early March, the Ministry of Finance announced its own plans to create a new category of “super-qualified” investors, who would be allowed to trade coins.
But the Central Bank has reiterated its call to “protect” retail investors “from [crypto] as much as possible.” Vladimir Chistyukhin, the Central Bank’s First Deputy Chairman, this month said that “transactions with cryptocurrencies are extremely risky.”
Industry Leaders Disagree
Many voices in Moscow appear to be very much at odds with Nabiullina’s anti-crypto stance. The Russian state-run media agency TASS reported that the head of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, Alexander Shokhin, wants the government to “analyze the prospects for using cryptocurrencies” after US President Donald Trump’s decision to launch a strategic Bitcoin reserve. Shokhin said:
“It seems that it has been agreed [in Moscow] that crypto can be used in cross-border settlements. After Trump said that the US will now become the crypto capital of the world and started accumulating crypto reserves – at least in Ethereum and Bitcoin – we also need to look at this somehow.”
However, these comments will likely fall on deaf ears at the Central Bank. Nabiullina has previously stated that she “does not see any circumstances under which” crypto assets “could end up in the reserves of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation.” The Ministry of Finance, however, has expressed a more cautiously optimistic stance on the matter.