Russia's approval of BTC

[BenjaminGlover]

Russia approved bitcoin as a form of money in order to hedge against the Russian ruble's depreciation and the Biden sanctions. What are your thoughts?

Putin is in favor of establishing bitcoin as a kind of money since he is threatening war and Biden's economic penalties will harm the ruble. He might still use bitcoin to transact in the global economy. I'd want to hear everyone's thoughts on this. Thanks for your response in advance

[_act_]

Can you include the source link if Russia has accepted Bitcoin as a currency

What I read last that we also discussed on this forum is that Russia wants to accept Bitcoin as a currency, they are still on it, you can check this thread for that: Russia to make bitcoin a currency

Russia approved bitcoin as a form of money in order to hedge against the Russian ruble's depreciation and the Biden sanctions. What are your thoughts?

Putin is in favor of establishing bitcoin as a kind of money since he is threatening war and Biden's economic penalties will harm the ruble. He might still use bitcoin to transact in the global economy. I'd want to hear everyone's thoughts on this. Thanks for your response in advance

Maybe it is political reason or not, nobody can know why, it can be and it might not be the reason. I do not have any point regarding this but one of the function of bitcoin is to help during inflation just like gold.

[Haunebu]

They haven't officially accepted it yet. They are being fickle banning them recently and reversing their stance primarily due to the entire Russia-Ukraine-USA fiasco.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/cointelegraph.com/news/russian-gov-t-and-central-bank-agree-to-treat-bitcoin-as-currency/amp

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/cryptocurrency/russia-likely-to-recognise-as-crypto-as-form-of-currency-report-8066631.html/amp

Also, I don't really think Putin is a big fan of BTC or anything and is only supporting it now due to the pressure from USA and its allies.

[24Kt]

They haven't officially accepted it yet. They are being fickle banning them recently and reversing their stance primarily due to the entire Russia-Ukraine-USA fiasco.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/cointelegraph.com/news/russian-gov-t-and-central-bank-agree-to-treat-bitcoin-as-currency/amp

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/cryptocurrency/russia-likely-to-recognise-as-crypto-as-form-of-currency-report-8066631.html/amp

Also, I don't really think Putin is a big fan of BTC or anything and is only supporting it now due to the pressure from USA and its allies.

This is true as just recently Russian bank proposes the banning of crypto as published below -

https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/russian-cbank-proposes-banning-cryptocurrencies-crypto-mining-2022-01-20/

But with their current  mess they are in, I believe, they are changing their stance towards crypto. So let us see how this will finally be decided by their government. Are they going to follow the banks' proposal or will follow the government's decision?

[Hispo]

Also, I don't really think Putin is a big fan of BTC or anything and is only supporting it now due to the pressure from USA and its allies.

Of course he is not. I believe he has proven himself authoritarian enough for not to be friendly towards an idea like decentralized money.
However, as you mentioned, the nature of Bitcoin may come handy to face future sanctions. 

[Jawhead999]

But with their current  mess they are in, I believe, they are changing their stance towards crypto. So let us see how this will finally be decided by their government. Are they going to follow the banks' proposal or will follow the government's decision?

IMO government decision are more higher than bank proposal, so it should be government decision. But this news is very recen and some people said it will be decided on 18th this month, however it's seems like they doesn't have a lot preparation and discussion about this matter... so this decision might be postponed. Take a look with El Salvador accept Bitcoin as legal tender after around 3 months planning.

[mk4]

Apparently they're working on it — but don't run around celebrating just yet, because it doesn't mean that it's already guaranteed to happen. And if it does happen, it could mean that they really are just going to legalize it, not necessarily use it themselves.

[cabron]

Biden's economic sanction is just SWIFT exclusion which Russia or China had already tried excluding themselves. If they cut SWIFT, Russia will just use thier own or the Cross-Border Interbank Payment System (CIPS) of China.

Seeing how much China despised BTC which they ban crypto and yet Russia made it a currency could be something that might hold the relationship between the two countries. They might have something to disagree with this time.

[UmerIdrees]

Russia approved bitcoin as a form of money in order to hedge against the Russian ruble's depreciation and the Biden sanctions. What are your thoughts?

Putin is in favor of establishing bitcoin as a kind of money since he is threatening war and Biden's economic penalties will harm the ruble. He might still use bitcoin to transact in the global economy. I'd want to hear everyone's thoughts on this. Thanks for your response in advance

There is a mix  news circulating about russia in the social media. Some say that Russia will accept cryptocurrencies while there is also news where banks are thinking to ban crypto. Don't know what that's the exact situation there. However the tension of Ukraine and Russia is not good for bitcoin and the overall crypto market.

[DapanasFruit]

I am sure that Putin or maybe one or two of his ministers may have thought that they can use Bitcoin as a way to get around the economic embargo just in case the man in Kremlin will push through his grand plan to evade Ukraine and annexed it to Russia so he can succeed in putting up again the glory of the former USSR. And yes, Bitcoin can be an effective tool to get away from any embargo...this is the same reason why Iran is toying with the same idea.

[pooya87]

Russia approved bitcoin as a form of money

Not yet.

in order to hedge against the Russian ruble's depreciation and the Biden sanctions. What are your thoughts?

Bitcoin is not big enough and Russian government doesn't own enough bitcoin (if anything at all) to hedge a country's economy against it.

Putin is in favor of establishing bitcoin as a kind of money since he is threatening war

The word is "annexation" not "war".

and Biden's economic penalties will harm the ruble. He might still use bitcoin to transact in the global economy. I'd want to hear everyone's thoughts on this.

You seem to have forgotten that Russia annexed part of Ukraine in 2014 and bitcoin existed back then too and the economy didn't care that much either. Today Europe depends on Russia and they have secured enough revenue for any sanctions to not matter as much.


P.S. To be clear I believe that we are moving towards a world where different countries use bitcoin officially as a legal tender and also for their global trades but I don't think this is happening overnight or on a large scale all of a sudden. For example some countries like Iran (trade partners with Russia) are already using bitcoin for their import/exports but on a small scale.

[evichi]

Both the ban and acceptance news are correct as contained in Cointelegraph news. In January, the Bank of Russia called for a nationwide crypto ban due to the speculative nature of the industry and also stated that financial firms should not facilitate crypto transactions.

However, the call for the crypto ban by the  Bank of Russia did not go well with the Russian Ministry of Finance. Few days after the central bank’s call for a ban, Ivan Chebeskov, a ministry official, called for crypto regulation instead of a total ban. He warned that a total ban might result in Russia falling behind in technology. There were  also reports that President Vladimir Putin supports efforts to regulate the country’s crypto mining sector. Details are contained on the news site: https://cointelegraph.com/news/russian-gov-t-and-central-bank-agree-to-treat-bitcoin-as-currency.

In my opinion Bitcoin is a hedge against ailing economies. Russia views adoption of crypto as option B, should they face sanctions or other financial threats or penalties. That is one of the reasons El Salvador has approved the use of Bitcoin officially in their country. We are all watching to see how El Salvador's economy will perform since the country's adoption of Bitcoin as the countries legal currency.

[DaveF]

As others have said, I think as of now Russia sees BTC & crypto as a bargaining chip against economic sanctions. But, I don't see it helping them that much if it comes to that.

There will always be people who will do trade with places that their country tells them not to do. People have been getting caught using cash or gold or diamonds. Using BTC might be a new way of people trying to get around the laws of their country to trade with places they should not. But, I don't think it's going to do that much in the grand scheme of things.

Just my opinion.

-Dave

[batang_bitcoin]

Russia approved bitcoin as a form of money in order to hedge against the Russian ruble's depreciation and the Biden sanctions. What are your thoughts?

It's being considered but don't jump to the conclusion that it's already been approved and confirmed. We're excited to see it happen that one of the countries that have imposed a ban on crypto will start considering making bitcoin a currency.

Putin is in favor of establishing bitcoin as a kind of money since he is threatening war and Biden's economic penalties will harm the ruble. He might still use bitcoin to transact in the global economy. I'd want to hear everyone's thoughts on this. Thanks for your response in advance

On this decision that may come out soon. Is he the only one to decide whether bitcoin is approved as a currency in Russia or there go the other persons in authority on his administration that have to agree/disagree with such a decision? I'm not just familiar with their government.

[Ozero]

I am sure that Putin or maybe one or two of his ministers may have thought that they can use Bitcoin as a way to get around the economic embargo just in case the man in Kremlin will push through his grand plan to evade Ukraine and annexed it to Russia so he can succeed in putting up again the glory of the former USSR. And yes, Bitcoin can be an effective tool to get away from any embargo...this is the same reason why Iran is toying with the same idea.

What kind of revival of the glory of the former USSR through Putin's takeover of Ukraine? Now empires are not being revived by capturing the territories of neighboring states, and in general, on the blood of other peoples in the 21st century, trying to create a strong state will not work. Ukraine, on the other hand, could well be the cause of Russia's further decline and disintegration if Putin does decide to attack Ukraine.
As for bitcoin, there is still no consensus regarding the legalization of the cryptocurrency in Russia. Given the current virtual isolation of Russia in the international arena, temporarily state institutions can use bitcoin to avoid international sanctions. But with the creation of its own digitized currency or some kind of regional CBDC, Russia is unlikely to use bitcoin in the future in international settlements.

[buwaytress]

Think the biggest sanction impact I can see right now is excluding Russia from SWIFT. It's problematic enough sending money to certain banks in the former Soviet nations -- I know as I always have to find the right bank there, but once SWIFT is gone, they're almost completely cut off.

What kind of revival of the glory of the former USSR through Putin's takeover of Ukraine? Now empires are not being revived by capturing the territories of neighboring states, and in general, on the blood of other peoples in the 21st century, trying to create a strong state will not work.

Yeah I don't think it's about old glories. Though there are always those segments in these countries, like Ukraine, who feel disenfranchised from the EU love affair and corrupt governments. They perhaps misguidedly yearn for the old days but more likely want to be on the "winning" side of the right oligarchs.

[stompix]

Biden's economic sanction is just SWIFT exclusion which Russia or China had already tried excluding themselves. If they cut SWIFT, Russia will just use thier own or the Cross-Border Interbank Payment System (CIPS) of China.

And? You can trade with your neighbor's cat rats for catnip that doesn't mean you've managed to bypass and find a better solution than calling a specialist.

If they cut them from SWIFT is goodbye, carrier pigeons if you want to deal with the rest of the world banks, if there will be economical sanctions good luck using BTC. The aim of sanctions is not to sever the direct payment link between the buyer and seller but to make the seller refuse completely any deal with the sanctioned part.
Look at Huawei, once the king of 5G, nowadays they can't even launch their flagship with a 5G chip, those are sanctions, why aren't they using CIPS or Bitcoin to get their 5g chips? Oh, because of sanctions, cause everybody refuses to deal with them.

This will be the same here, you can use Monero or Love Potion or any other coins, as long as not even  Lrrr, ruler of the Planet Omicron Persei 8 would want to trade with you the only thing you can do is stick them on down your ass or get out of Ukraine.

Yeah I don't think it's about old glories.

He needs to show the masses something.
You claim you're the richest country, a  superpower, bla bla bla, and you have a lower wage than Bulgaria, you're losing millions as poeple flee from the country, you claimed to be in control of the virus but a million has died from it, the ruble is going down the drain and there is no change in people's life. He must show them something. Just like the Crimea Bridge, they've built that as a symbol, the rest of the country's infrastructure is a joke, but they need symbols, just like 80 years ago.

 

[AicecreaME]

Russia approved bitcoin as a form of money in order to hedge against the Russian ruble's depreciation and the Biden sanctions. What are your thoughts?

Putin is in favor of establishing bitcoin as a kind of money since he is threatening war and Biden's economic penalties will harm the ruble. He might still use bitcoin to transact in the global economy. I'd want to hear everyone's thoughts on this. Thanks for your response in advance

I think Russia is still in the process of deciding on whether to accept crypto in their country or not. Although recently I've read news on the internet that says they are not banning it unlike China and are not yet on the verge of legalizing it like El Salvador. They are still planning perhaps and calculating the pros and cons of fully approving the usage of BTC in their country. Which is a good thing in my opinion because making haste decisions could lead to nowhere good. Of course, there are people and groups who are in favor and against it and they must face both and handle them well to avoid chaos and unnecessary trouble.

[pooya87]

Think the biggest sanction impact I can see right now is excluding Russia from SWIFT.

The real question is can Europe survive sanctioning Russia. The way Europe is hooked up Russian energy if Putin suddenly decides to go on a cut off spree and if the conflict increases some more "incidents" to other suppliers like in Red Sea, Europe could easily see 80% of its imports vanish and face a widespread energy crisis.

[buwaytress]

Yeah I don't think it's about old glories.

He needs to show the masses something.
You claim you're the richest country, a  superpower, bla bla bla, and you have a lower wage than Bulgaria, you're losing millions as poeple flee from the country, you claimed to be in control of the virus but a million has died from it, the ruble is going down the drain and there is no change in people's life. He must show them something. Just like the Crimea Bridge, they've built that as a symbol, the rest of the country's infrastructure is a joke, but they need symbols, just like 80 years ago.

Yeah, and the number of people who actually like (love?) those symbols, a scant reminder of the scraps they thought they once had. The sun has long set on all these empires but they still gather around the embers, hoping to restore pride because they still think the rest of the world looks on in awe at caviar-laden halls of decadence. And all we see are vodka-infused dancing bear videos.

The lengths they go to for this theatre would only be amusing if it weren't tragic for millions.

The real question is can Europe survive sanctioning Russia. The way Europe is hooked up Russian energy if Putin suddenly decides to go on a cut off spree and if the conflict increases some more "incidents" to other suppliers like in Red Sea, Europe could easily see 80% of its imports vanish and face a widespread energy crisis.

Tell me about it... my gas bill's more than tripled in past couple of months. My provider folded back in November, so multi-year contract ripped up, and on new tariffs that's been absolutely painful. State here's in talks to approve tax rebates to help but I'm already doing my numbers and it's tough on me, but I have no idea how most people with single-income family members are going to pull through next winter (if not already this cold spring).