Elvira Nabiullina: “Legalization of cryptocurrencies will not bring large tax deductions” – Bits Media

The head of the Bank of Russia still advocates banning digital currencies and says, that the government did not discuss the concept of regulating the crypto industry with the Central Bank.

Chairman of the Central Bank Elvira Nabiullina spoke on the topic of cryptocurrencies at a press conference on results of the meeting of the board of directors of the regulator 11 february. According to the head of the Central Bank, the discussion about the legalization of the Russian cryptocurrency market is not over yet. Before publication, the government concept did not even fall into the hands of regulator representatives, Nabiullina made it clear.

Position of the Ministry of Finance, says the head of the regulator, does not allow you to mitigate risks, which he pointed out
The Bank of Russia in its report 20 january. Cryptocurrency by its nature opens up a large-scale channel for crime, and its legalization will cause the involvement of financial institutions, especially, when the participation of the banking sector is expected in advance, says Nabiullina:

"Argument, that the legalization of cryptocurrency will allow us to collect more taxes, does not take into account the fact, that due to the use of illegal schemes, conditions will arise for tax evasion throughout the economy as a whole".

The head of the Bank of Russia reminded, that the regulator has been fighting illegal transactions in the financial sector for many years and removing players from the market, who were involved in money laundering and cashing out.

High citizen engagement, to which the Ministry of Finance refers, demanding legalization of digital assets, it's not positive, and the negative factor, Nabiullina assures. High involvement indicates an increased level of risk:

"Because we don't know, how to reduce risks, conditions must be provided, so that people are less involved in the crypto business".

The head of the Central Bank gave an example with foreign currency mortgages. People actively and willingly used the financial instrument, seeing attractive nominal rates, without realizing, what currency risks are taken?:

“Then the question arose, why wasn't it banned, and all problems had to be solved by the government, Central Bank and commercial banks. However, the scale of the problem was much smaller, than with cryptocurrencies. It's not clear yet, what to do with current risks, this must be remembered and taken into account".

The Russian government has adopted a regulation reflecting general principles
concept in early February 2022 of the year. The bill on the circulation of cryptocurrencies should be submitted to the State Duma by 18 february. The final version of the bill is currently undergoing preliminary approval..