At the end of 2021, news appeared in major media about a possible ban on the trade and circulation of digital assets. The initiator is the Central Bank, which does not treat bitcoin and its analogues in the best way. In fact, investors should not worry, since it is unlikely that they will be able to take away purchased assets or prohibit trading them by force.
Prerequisites
At the end of 2021, the Central Bank of the Russian Federation planned to introduce restrictions on investing in cryptocurrency for mutual investment funds (UIF). Previously, the regulator did not recommend using digital assets for these purposes, but did not prohibit doing this.
Potential bans will also apply to qualified investors. The Central Bank announced such intentions back in September last year. The regulator wants to introduce criminal liability for violations. Fortunately for users, the Central Bank cannot unilaterally make such changes to the legislation of the Russian Federation.
Why not be afraid
The media made a fuss out of the blue. De facto, they sanctified the position of the regulator, but in fact there were not many members of the working group on its side when considering the issue. There are several reasons why most officials are against the cryptocurrency ban:
- The mining of BTC and ETH is actively developing in Russia. According to rough estimates, miners consume about 2% of all electricity.
- Russians are actively trading digital assets on foreign platforms. In the cryptocurrency market, the country occupies a leading position in terms of trading volume.
- Blockchain is innovation, so an attempt to resist them will lead to another technological lag behind other countries, which, on the contrary, have recognized bitcoin and are trying to regulate it. Now large companies Adidas, Nike, Pepsi and others are already actively investing and developing the NFT direction.
The ban is not terrible anyway
Trying to restrict people from bitcoin is more like a “fight against windmills.” If the situation really escalates, large investors will instantly change their jurisdiction. As an example, you can look at the outflow of miners from China to Kazakhstan.
It is easier for a cryptocurrency millionaire to change a country than to give up promising assets.
Ordinary citizens with a small amount of digital assets will also be weakly affected by the ban. Withdrawing money to a bank account will become problematic, but there are alternative ways of trading:
- Decentralized exchanges. No regulator can prohibit trading on such sites. The only drawback of such platforms is that they do not have fiat deposits and withdrawals. They are suitable for users who already own coins.
- Foreign bank account. Neighboring Belarus legalized cryptocurrency back in 2018. Foreigners can open a local bank account to legally buy assets. True, you will only have to do it on licensed sites, for example, Currency.com.
- P2P services. Tracking small amounts of funds is extremely problematic. Therefore, the exchange of cryptocurrency in a small volume between individuals will not be regulated.
Share in the comments how the regulator’s policy touched you.
HOLD for everyone …