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Russia is creating a cryptocurrency infrastructure of its own, with the country’s crypto sector pushing the government to finalize it faster.
According to a top representative of the Russian finance ministry, its elements should serve not just the recently regulated mining industry, but other crypto-related activities as well.
Moscow to underpin Russian crypto market with domestic infrastructure
Russia is already working to establish the necessary infrastructure for the experimental regime for cryptocurrency transactions announced earlier this year, but market participants expect this to happen much faster.
Deputy Finance Minister Ivan Chebeskov made the comments at a fintech event in the Russian capital. The high-ranking official took part in a session devoted to the challenges facing the nascent industry.
Addressing attendees during the “Digital Finance: New Economic Reality” forum in Moscow, Chebeskov stated:
“The market is telling us that we need infrastructure. We need our own infrastructure, including for mining and for everything related to cryptocurrencies.”
Quoted by the TASS news agency on Thursday, the deputy head of the Ministry of Finance (Minfin) confirmed its development has started. He also noted that work in that regard is being coordinated with the Central Bank of Russia (CBR).
Ivan Chebeskov emphasized that organizations involved in crypto activities expect this to be a full-fledged infrastructure for operations with crypto assets.
Russia’s Minfin leads efforts to facilitate crypto business
While the Ministry of Finance supports using crypto to grow the nation’s economy, the Bank of Russia has been reluctant to permit the free circulation of decentralized cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin.
In March, the monetary authority proposed to create a special “experimental legal regime” (ELR) that will allow Russian companies to use digital coins in cross-border settlements and give investors regulated access to crypto assets.
Besides Russian exporters and importers, a limited group of investors, either financial firms or high-income Russians, can access the sandbox to buy, trade, or spend cryptocurrencies. However, the regulator has made it clear it doesn’t recognize crypto as a means of payment outside the ELR.
In May, the CBR authorized the offering of crypto derivatives to the same category of investors – individuals who have 100 million rubles (over $1.2 million) invested in securities and deposits or an annual income of at least 50 million rubles (more than $600,000).
A number of established market participants joined the race to provide financial instruments, the profits of which are tied to the prices of major cryptocurrencies. Among them are Russia’s largest bank, Sber, the country’s largest stock market, the Moscow Exchange, and Finam, a leading Russian brokerage.
In early September, the finance ministry urged for expanding the circle of those admitted to the strictly regulated crypto assets market by relaxing the requirements for obtaining the status of a “superqual,” as the so-called “highly qualified” investors are commonly referred to Russian media.
The central bank is yet to respond to the Minfin’s suggestion, but later last month, it indicated it’s going to permit investment funds to add crypto to their portfolios in 2026.
The deputy head of the CBR’s Investment Finance Intermediation Department, Valery Krasinsky, explained that the aim is to level the playing field for capital management companies, as the Russian market for crypto derivatives is currently dominated by brokers.
While Russia looks set to further develop its state-controlled crypto market, ordinary Russians still have few legal options to invest in crypto assets.
However, despite government efforts to suffocate crypto trading at the low level and warn citizens about the risks that come with coins, an estimate quoted by Cryptopolitan in June revealed that Russian crypto wallets hold over $25 billion worth of cryptocurrency.
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