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https://www.euronews.com/next/2022/02/09/russia-s-government-and-central-bank-agree-to-treat-cryptos-as-currency (https://www.euronews.com/next/2022/02/09/russia-s-government-and-central-bank-agree-to-treat-cryptos-as-currency)

From considering a ban to admitting that it is nearly impossible to prevent the use of bitcoin, that is already extended to millions of its citizens that will not stop their trading and holding just for an official ban, the government has chosen a much wiser path, legalise and make sure that the actors of the market are clearly identified and can operate in full compliance with legislation.

EDITED to add: "... and then decides not to".

Now, they realized the saying, "if you can't beat them, join them". Because as they have seen, no matter what they do to prohibit the use of btc, their people will always find a way how to go around and transact with crypto. So it is useless to ban if there's other way to use it, right? It is better to get at least something from the taxes paid by these crypto exchanges or other related crypto business rather than not getting anything because they are operating in black market. This is why I am positive that other countries like Bangladesh, Egypt, Iraq, or even China will change their position towards bitcoin in the near futture.

It's almost as if they are trying to compete against Ukraine at this point on who's going to be the country wherein Eastern Russia can do their business with when it comes to cryptocurrencies. Russia has a somewhat huge population of cryptocurrency users, and knowing the economic situations of the said country, it really is a smart move for them to just give in and accept that crypto is inevitable, and that people will soon catch up to it and that they just have to build and plan ahead before the massive surge.

Perhaps, the Russian government realized that after much consideration from crypto experts that it would be difficult to ban crypto and it would be better to accept it and see other benefits by accepting crypto e.g. with the imposition of taxes that would increase the country's income, we know that the government will always consider everything if it can add income to their coffers.

Russia has realised ahead of time that it won't be a good idea to deprive the citizen the chance to freely trade with counterparts just like Ukraine is coming up with legalization also. This step will help the Russia economy because more flow of transaction will be recorded as more cryptocurrency related businesses will open, exchanges won't be restricted and tax will be collected from related businesses. In the region also Russia has opened it self up for international trade and exchange more than fiat currency.

Just the best any nation can do other than make I ban on cryptocurrency. Russia government has finally realized the will only keep promoting fraud and cyber crime if the keep holding on to the ban because no matter how strict the policy might seem Russians will still own crypto and since exchanges aren't legalized they will operate in the hidden there by making crypto owners even more anonymous then malware attackers could take good advantage of it to take good ransom for their cyber thefts

I think you are late to post this news. Just not long ago I responded in a similar post because yesterday's news is not very flattering, and raises a completely different picture from what was expected on the 9th:


You can read the Russian newspaper using an online translator, I have done so.

Unlike the internet, I guess they found it pretty impossible to control anyone in the country from being able to use it - so they might as well legalize it, tax it and have businesses making profit from it. Sounds like it will still be somewhat restricted and they what to contain it to certain areas of the country, at least from the mining perspective. It's a bit surprising that the ministry of finance and the central bank were so at odd's with each others opinion, maybe there is some kind of rivalry going on between the leadership of these two institutions and this is an outlet. The central bank, which controls the normal money flow, has lost it's case to the ministry of finance who is trying to innovate.

Last month Russia was planning for a crypto ban by fearing money laundering. It's good to see that decentralization proves superior compared to centralization. But I am confused about "analogue of currencies" terms stated in the OP. They said they will not treat it as a digital asset and consider it as a currency which means they are going to announce bitcoin as a legal tender? Is there any info published about those draft laws?

Did someone on their side not think things through :D? Or was the initial report of crypto banning just somebody (from the government or connected to) blabbing out something that was actually just one of the things they were looking into and considering but never made real plans to do it. So yeah, governments are still trying to figure out what to do with this and I don't think any definitive consensus will be met anytime soon. I wouldn't be surprised by changes in the approach towards crypto dependent on what government is in charge.

It's literally wise for them to just embrace the unstoppable adoption and growth of bitcoin together with the whole market of cryptocurrencies.

They surely doing it with the right path and choice for having no issues anymore with what they've been banning and stopping the growth on their country before.

Rejoiced early! In general, remember - if today they say "yes" in Russia, this does not mean that tomorrow they will not say "no" :)
Very briefly: on February 18, 2022, the Central Bank developed a draft law banning cryptocurrencies. How did the market react
The Bank of Russia has prepared a bill to ban the issuance and organization of the circulation of private digital currency in the country.
Among other things, they suggest: "... The draft law provides for a ban on the organization of the issuance of cryptocurrency and its circulation, as well as on the dissemination of information about it. The draft also prohibits banks and other participants in the financial market from owning private digital currencies ..."


Primary source, for review and study (easily translated by Google Translators)
https://www.rbc.ru/crypto/news/620fc79f9a7947a3f10698aa

Understandable why Putin would be okay with Bitcoin and crypto mining, article mentions the electricity costs in Russia being low which supports large mining operations. Considering the access to oil they have, Putin would be a fool to restrict his economy and make all crypto mining farms illegal.

It is because the Russia’s Ministry of Finance knows that if the ban continues, they will be left behind like China and other anti-Bitcoin countries out there. Same thing goes to India, in which they also have the change of heart after proposing a ban sometime last year and criminalize those who are holding and trading some BTC or any cryptocurrency.

Warren Buffett even called Bitcoin a “rat poison” sometime in 2018, and recently he bought BTC in a crypto-friendly bank while he dumped some traditional stocks.

According to recent events, there is an opinion that there are two authorities in Russia. One is going to legalize bitcoin, but after the expiration of time, the central bank in every possible way prevents this. One gets the impression that the head of the central bank does not understand bitcoin at all, seeing only the threat of terrorism everywhere. But without noticing all the benefits.
Therefore, until the authorities appoint people who are ready to understand and understand all the details of cryptocurrencies, these "laws" will be thrown from prohibition to permission and vice versa.

               This type of decision was already bound to happen not just for Russia itself but for the other countries in the world as well and it will only he a matter of time before other countries follow. Is there really any reason to fight this industry when clearly it is nearly unstoppable without stepping over the rights of the people? Why not just take advantage of it to improve your political standing  with the people? Not only does this gain favor for politicians, it also keeps the people and economy safe from unprecedented threats while also helping the country financially with the tax they can amass from this huge industry. It is a win win situation for the leaders and their countrymen. Why make things difficult in the first place? -.-

We also know very well that though they ban it they can stop them using it. Same thing happened with their friendly nation India. The crypto had been ban so many times in the past and yet India is holding one of the largest crypto coins in the globe. With the legal tender passing the users are growing at alarming rate.

Now same thing will happen with the Russia as they passed the legalisation of same. Any technical guy can tell, blockchain environment is made in such that, the public ledger allows us to access it from anywhere with just an internet connection.

With VPN tunnels and back doors it’s nearly impossible to restrict the use of crypto. Better accept it and help contribute.

Well, they'd probably have better chances of actually managing it (if they ever want to) if they allowed it since, well, banning it actually does nothing to its core. It's still usable by the people as long as they want to, the government can't exactly stop it unless they plug off the internet from the world. They'd probably also benefit here through taxing companies, maybe even as an advertisement of their country being pro crypto. It's mostly pros really. I don't even know if you'd count being hated by anti-crypto people be a con.

Glad to hear Russia has given the green light for Bitcoin's presence in the bear country. At least this is a benchmark in the future that Russia's alignment with Bitcoin growth is likely to be clearer and no longer gray about the policies that will be launched. Positive alignments or support from Russia will be quite good if in the future Bitcoin is no longer banned as in the past.

This will certainly have a positive impact on the market and crypto investors and traders will no longer have to worry about Bitcoin policies going forward. We will see in the future what steps will be taken to overcome or minimize the actions of market criminals.

This was the case for years now and some nations for some reason still goes against it. Bitcoin is not something they could censor, China is doing and trying the same thing as well, this is not internet access where you could block some websites form the ISP, you just need to accept the fact that with the p2p trading options you could never truly stop bitcoin.

Definitely you could limit it, there will be some people who will stop using it because p2p would be too much of a hassle for them but the reality is that you can't really make money from this at all, you just need to accept the fact that it is a profitable thing for a nation that could make money if they do not ban it. Russia realized it finally and they are just going to make sure that they could get it legalized and taxed instead of banned.

I got the information form several outlets. I guess it is a time of undefinition and continuous changes in opinion even from the governments. I take it that since it changed in 9 days, it may very well be back into track in another 9  :P I think that keeping the ban is just ridiculous as you would be ignoring transactions and people would still find the way to trade even if they have to fake KYC and the like in foreign exchanged.

When I read this, my thoughts immediately went to Ukraine as well, although in a much more cynical fashion.  I'm wondering if Russia putting out a news story that no doubt will be received favorably (since crypto is extremely popular in Russia and because of cheap electricity must be lucrative as hell), attention might be directed away from the hostilities that are brewing between both countries.

It's not like that hasn't happened before; it has, and all throughout the world in many different era.  Governments/politicians use misdirection as a tactic to keep their popularity up when they're undertaking much bigger, far more important actions that would not gain them any favor in the public eye.

Now as far as the substance of the story itself:  YAAAAY-UHH!!!  I'm not Russian, but Russians are Russian and they're big (and numerous) in the crypto world.  It would be one hell of a shame if their government regulated bitcoin to the point of it being practically unusable.  Kuckle-bump to all my Ruskie bros out there.

This will definitely impact the price of bitcoin in the market. With one of the countries that used to ban BTC with their geographical location being ideal for mining, this kind of opportunity will attract future miners in setting up their system on the country.

I just do hope that other countries would start to accept BTC exchanges to their country. With its dominance in the transactions, I somehow doubt that prohibitions from other countries would last, given that a widespread of people have already utilized it. Let us just w and see that such payment method be implemented and integrated into our countries.

It is undeniable that the source of Russia's wealth will be the benchmark that will provide a bit of a big boost. Plus the widely accepted adoption of Bitcoin has had a good economic impact. Russia is the largest country now open to Bitcoin. I firmly believe that this adoption will make price changes. Because the level of speculation in Russia about cryptocurrencies is a hunting ground for investors and elements of the government.

Not to rule out the possibility that after the official financial amendments in Bitcoin, President Putin could have imposed the payment of government salaries with Bitcoin. The most important thing is to be accepted first, after that there will be a lot of good considerations about the payment system.

Russia apparently chose the better path with the green light being signaled for Bitcoin. However, people should still be wary. The legalization is obviously grounded on centralized terms and conditions, ones which are contrary to the Bitcoin spirit. If I am a Russian and has Bitcoin secretly kept in my wallet, I might not be coming out despite the national acceptance.

Bitcoin could only be used with "with full identification, through the banking system, or via licensed intermediaries." Furthermore, "fines will also be levied on those who illegally accept crypto as a means of payment."^[1] That doesn't sound great at all.

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[1] https://www.theblockcrypto.com/linked/133586/russia-set-to-recognize-crypto-as-a-form-of-currency-report

There was a saying once that "if you cant beat them join them" this is now happening in the country of Russia where their government join its people because people seem cant get enough of using a bitcoin even though bitcoin is banned already in their country.

Sometimes it takes only courage to get what you desire unlike to other countries where they got scared easily in anything that their government is saying but I guess they are only care about their selves or to their love ones because they can also get in trouble if they wont follow the protocol. Their government might want to do regulations too so that they can also identify the bad actors in the market.

What a precise quotes for the current situation where Russia is in now. I know that it might give a positive feedback to the crypto platform especially bitcoin and I do hope for that. It's true that people are the true power of a nation and that's what it proves by the Russian people to the government. I believe that Russia did a great choice here by considering accepting bitcoin exchanges and hopefully it will be taken legally sooner without any hindrances.

That is what we were expecting and hopping from Russia, but the current conflict between the two countries is now creating problems. whole market is down due to these uncertainty. hopefully we will hear good news from there and which will again turn the market in a positive track. we just need to stay calm and think positive.

Cryptocurrency is popular in Russia and Ukraine not because of cheap electricity, but because of the fact that the population has a total distrust of the banking system and the fact that the population does not want to pay taxes (by the way, the population cannot be blamed for this, only the government is to blame). As for the hostilities...stop watching the propaganda news, as there is not a single chance that a military conflict will break out between Ukraine and Russia.

You are wrong. Russia has already started an open war against Ukraine, and in fact against the entire civilized world. Yesterday, Putin recognized the independent parts of the Russian-occupied Donetsk and Lugansk regions of Ukraine, and already at night, Russian troops, along with heavy military equipment, openly entered these territories of Ukraine and stood on the line of contact with the Ukrainian troops.
Now Europe and the United States must fulfill the promise to impose hellish sanctions against Russia if even one Russian soldier sets foot on the territory of Ukraine. First of all, Russia will be cut off from the use of the dollar and the euro. It is quite possible that in this case, bitcoin for Russia will be very useful.

It is not "gives in", it is realizes the potential profit of it. I mean Russia is about to wage a war, or maybe they won't , we really do not know. However money is something they will always need and if they just accept exchanges and they tax them, there are a ton of taxes to be made from it. Russia is heavily crypto loving nation from the citizens, and if the politicians realize this then they will realize that they will be making a lot of money.

All of those people will use the exchanges and they would end up with paying the trading fees as well and when they do the exchanges will make a lot of money and when they make a lot of money then they will end up paying a lot of taxes and that helps Russia overall.

By now, I believe, most governments are realizing that there's no benefit of continuously being strict about crypto industry, like banning or not letting crypto-related businesses to thrive under their jurisdiction. Because they have seen that despite of banning in China and other countries, bitcoin and other crypto continue to survive and it keeps on growing. So instead of being hard on this market, why not get the share from it via regulating its existence and getting taxes from this business? And Russia is not dumb about not seeing crypto market as another source of income, now, that they need more funds during this time of possible crisis.

This is always good to know that the negative status has been removed and the made it legal .I was almost sure that they will not able to ban it even restrict it cause the huge amount of user will lost their asset and the way of how they were earning regularly .Now the question has come once again if the gov. want to reveal the user how they will really do it cause the user always want to avoid the KYC system for their privacy.I think we need to wait for the clear regulation if really the want to get the information of the user .Let's see how everything will happen in next .

Obviously, there is a good case to be made about the fact that Russia is not doing anything that could be considered "acceptable" at the international level, but at the same time nobody will say no to them neither and care about Ukraine enough. With that in mind, that means Russia could be needing some new income, with the sanctions and a need to create a new taxes or some other method that they need to get out of the difference these sanctions will bring, means that crypto is a great way out for them.

Look at Iran for example, they have been living with sanctions all their life and they are doing fine, not great but fine and that means Russia will do even better. Iran uses crypto to go around some legal loopholes, Russia could try to do that as well, at least Russian citizens could do that. Which is why I believe that they should not be really worried all that much.

This is just their dark plan to move on with the sanctions that have been imposed on them therefore I do not think that we should be considering them saints for real since this is to meticulously calculated at this time again shows how the government body flocked to the house when they saw things collapsing internationally and the only thing that provided then with peace was bitcoins. I do hope that they do not use it to fund their war since at the end of the day that is catastrophic and might be the beginning of world war 3, which is the last thing that we need in the middle of the ongoing pandemic. No one hopes to live with the tanks and the COVID.

Russia is far from Ukraine in the issue of full legalization of cryptocurrency. On February 17, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted the law on virtual assets for the second time, fully legalizing its circulation in Ukraine as a means of payment. In Russia, there is still no single approach to this issue. There, the Central Bank still demands to completely ban the circulation of cryptocurrency, and in the Duma there is a bill establishing criminal liability for its use as a means of payment. Therefore, we do not yet know what final decision will be made there. This will depend on many factors, including the state of war with Ukraine and international sanctions.

I think KYC in the latter part will still be required in the long run. Although it could ruin the anonymity factor for bitcoin users, but for me it does not imply negativity. Since starting now, our trading accounts will be more safe since all exchanges are protected by the government and that rest assured that we will no longer fall into fake exchanges. Well, having exchanges with KYC does not really mean to expose our full identity, we are still anonymous provided that we are still the ones who take responsibility for the safety of our own account and password.

Acceptance of cryptocurrency in Russia means more income for their government. The news have it that Russia is in the top spot of countries that has the most Bitcoin mining share. Now, imagine how much they would be able to make by taxing all those? And apart from how much this would benefit the government, we all also know that this will benefit the citizens, and will in turn benefit the economy of the country.

So it’s not bad, it’s really a good thing that they realised that it was a good opportunity, and banning it in the country would have been a huge mistake for them. Lastly exchanges would also be more  income, as they pay taxes.

Has this new regulation really been passed into regulation under the law?
If not, then who knows, it will change again for one reason or another.
Sometimes these countries are difficult to understand because they often make arbitrary statements.  :D

But at least, from this news, we can take the positive value of how the jurney of Bitcoin in this country.
This maybe true:
Within or without any hidden interest and willingness behind, because of some hidden and secret reasons maybe.
At least, we have a little bit of good news about Bitcoin again this time. Although we don't exactly know whether this good news will help Bitcoin makret to recover or not.

Better for them. If they banned Bitcoin it is not going to make the millions of people who are already Bitcoin investors there to stop buying and selling Bitcoin. People would still continue as long as they have started. I know a few where the government banned Bitcoin all of a sudden and people quickly decided that it was best for them to switch to peer-to-peer exchanges.

So, the government’s are just wasting their time with banning Bitcoin, because it never works. The smart ones would not ban Bitcoin, rather they would legalize it and welcome crypto companies and exchanges into their country, and use that as an opportunity to benefit from cryptocurrency.

Russia has already legalized bitcoin and its a good thing that those citizens will now have to operate not in a grey area anymore but in a very limitless scope. Since legalizing bitcoin simply means that the country is more open to bitcoin trading operations and crypto investors provided that all will follow the policies subjected to it. Not only that, people from neighboring countries will also have the chance to go in Russia so they can start trading without illegalities.

What is important is that they have shifted already into a smart move now, and that to accept bitcoin exchanges that will open more opportunities for the country to be more developed. But i think this is not the focus of Russia right now as their government is still in war with Ukraine who happens to legalize bitcoin too after them. Well its hard for the citizens in Russia right now to withraw in fiat since their banks are also given sanctioned by US, so maybe this is the best time to shift their savings into bitcoin as they can transact it anytime and everywhere they want.

I guess they'll do what seems to be the best for their people. I'd find it not for personal interest but this seems to be a favorable decision by the majority. What happens to Russia in regards to legalizing is a way it helps to make this technology going better and stronger. I'd already visualized this thing before, developing countries will adopt crypto as it was proven that has great help to improve the economic life of individuals. Kinda they don't want to miss it seeing small countries are into it already.