According to Yuri Chikhanchin, the agency’s head, the Russian financial watchdog Rosfinmonitoring is prepared to accept the use of cryptocurrencies in cross-border transactions. The declaration strengthens the argument for legalizing international cryptocurrency payments in Russia amid financial sanctions imposed due to its invasion of Ukraine.
Leading Russian Financial Regulator Accepts International Crypto Payments
According to Yury Chikhanchin, director of the regulatory body, the Federal Financial Monitoring Service of the Russian Federation, also known as Rosfinmonitoring, fully accepts the use of cryptocurrencies for payments to foreign partners.
Chikhanchin emphasized that it is against the law to use digital assets to make payments inside of Russia during his speech to the Federation Council, the upper house of the Russian parliament. The nation’s current legal framework prohibits “money surrogates.”
However, Chikhanchin noted that under specific circumstances, such payments might very well be utilized in international trade. This, according to the high-ranking official, can benefit companies that are focused on exporting Russian goods. He added, as reported by the cryptocurrency news site Bits.media:
This is perfectly acceptable if the supply chain is under control
Yury Chikhanchin further emphasized the need for Russian businesses to be aware of to whom they are specifically exchanging the digital currencies in order to benefit from cryptocurrency payments.
The regulator disclosed that his office had created and already made available a unique information system for monitoring cryptocurrency transactions. It has already been used in some investigations and enables financial authorities to identify both the sender and the recipient of funds.
The topic of cryptocurrencies’ future in Russia is still up for discussion. After the law “On Digital Financial Assets” only partially regulated the cryptocurrency market, a new bill “On Digital Currency” is anticipated to introduce more thorough regulations for crypto transactions.
As Western sanctions against Russia for its military intervention in Ukraine have become more severe, the idea of using cryptocurrencies in international transactions is gaining support. At the same time, the majority of Moscow’s government institutions concur that the rouble should continue to be the only form of legal tender in the nation.
The lower house of the Russian parliament recently passed a law outlawing domestic payments made with digital financial assets, despite the Bank of Russia, a vocal opponent of the free circulation of cryptocurrencies, recently signaling it might support the legalization of crypto payments that don’t enter Russia’s financial system.
