According to a high-ranking member of the Russian parliament, foreigners should be able to buy Russian upcoming digital rubles through entry points that provide anonymity. The idea, floated in Moscow, aims to protect these investors from Western sanctions.
State Duma deputies propose anonymous digital ruble purchases to avoid sanctions
Foreign investors should be offered the option to acquire the Russian Central Bank’s digital currency (CBDC) anonymously to minimize the risk of falling under sanctions, State Duma Industry Committee Chairman Vladimir Gutenev said on his Telegram channel on Tuesday.
The Russian lawmaker also suggested that the digital ruble, currently being developed and tested by the Central Bank of Russia and the Commercial Banking Group, should be backed by real assets. Quoted by Interfax, Gutenev elaborated as follows.
Domestic digital currency should be backed by real assets. In order to avoid the imposition of sanctions, it is necessary to create the possibility of an “anonymous entry point” for foreign investors to purchase Russian digital currency.
In his post, the State Duma deputy also voiced support for the legalization of cryptocurrency mining in Russia. He believes that the industry should be anchored in energy-rich regions of the country that offer low-cost electrical energy. At the same time, Vladimir Gutenev is not in favor of imposing preferential rates on mining companies.
A high-ranking member of the lower house of the Russian parliament argued that “civilized mining and thoughtfulness in the use of digital currencies will open new opportunities for the financial, economic and technological sectors.”
Russia is preparing to comprehensively regulate the crypto space this year, and the State Duma is expected to consider a new bill “on digital currency” during its fall session. Of particular interest is the possibility of using digital currencies to circumvent financial regulations imposed by Moscow’s military invasion of Ukraine.
In early September, the Ministry of Finance and the Bank of Russia agreed that they could not do without cross-border payments in cryptocurrencies. Despite their agreement, the monetary authorities stressed that the agreement was not about legalizing crypto as a domestic means of payment and promised to continue promoting their own digital currency.
Stable coins have been proposed as another option for cross-border payments. Although digital rubles are not backed by any assets, a June VEB.RF Research and Expert Institute report proposed issuing a stablecoin, the so-called “golden ruble,” backed by Russian gold reserves, to be used for foreign trade payments and exchanged for other currencies on exchanges.
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