Vladimir Putin just recently confirmed that there will be no crypto ban in Russia and that he sees a future in crypto as a settlement unit. However, the Bank of Russia still keeps its own doubts regarding the crypto sector.
The Russian Central Bank is among the institutions affected by the global pandemic as a large amount of money withdrawn during that time has not been returned to it. Consequently, now they are trying to assess the quantity of BTC volumes held by crypto investors.
Bank of Russia to Assess Crypto Investments
They are asking crypto investors about the volume of their investments in Russia, as reported by the representative of the Central Bank’s department of stability, Elizaveta Danilova.
Danilova was part of a Reuters interview that can be found on the official website of the Bank of Russia. She mostly expressed her concerns regarding cryptocurrencies.
The major red flag, according to her, is that cryptocurrencies are highly unbacked investments and therefore risky, especially Bitcoin futures or exchange-traded funds.
She insists that people need to be more informed about the possible risks and accurate data about the crypto sector.
And we are not talking only about Russia, continued the head of the financial stability department, but the industry goes beyond it. According to her, there is not enough transparency in the crypto market and it becomes even more challenging to track it when investments take place with other countries as well.
The Bank of Russia is seriously considering analyzing the crypto market investments as Russians are reluctant to trust the bank with their money. About 2.6 trillion rubles were withdrawn during the COVID-19 pandemic and have not been returned since.
Bank of Russia’s Skeptical Stance on Crypto
Existing reports show that Russians are already highly attracted to the crypto market. About 77% of investors from Russia would rather invest in Bitcoin than traditional assets like forex and gold.
The Central Bank of Russia noticed the rise of crypto in the nation and wants to take some safety measures. They are asking the government to restrict investments from investors that cannot be trusted and generally keep an eye on the process. They even planned to slow down payments to crypto exchanges to fight suspicious crypto activity.
While the Bank of Russia tightens its grip on crypto, Vladimir Putin, the Russian president views it as a future unit of account.
Also Read: Vladimir Putin Confirms No Crypto Ban, Believes They Can Be Used as Settlement Unit