Russian crypto transactions reach 50 billion rubles a day

Millions of Russians are engaged in transactions involving cryptocurrencies for tens of billions of rubles every day, according to a top finance ministry official in Moscow.

Usage is constantly increasing, the high-ranking representative of the department acknowledged amid preparations for comprehensive regulation of crypto operations in Russia this next spring.

Russia’s daily crypto turnover nears $650 million

The total volume of crypto-related transactions in Russia is approximately 50 billion rubles (over $647 million) per day, according to an estimate made public by the country’s Deputy Minister of Finance Ivan Chebeskov.

Speaking at a conference devoted to the country’s expanding market for digital assets, and quoted by the official TASS news agency, he stated:

Chebeskov was addressing participants in an Alfa Talk forum under the motto “Digital Financial Assets: New Market Architecture.” Alfa Talk events are organized by Alfa-Bank, Russia’s largest private bank by assets and accounts.

The registered growth signals significant interest among Russians in digital assets as a savings tool, the government representative elaborated. The Minfin official also reminded that the ministry has repeatedly highlighted the scale of the crypto market.

As per a report by the business daily Kommersant, he also noted that most of the activity in this space is currently occurring without regulation and outside of Moscow’s control.

Taking that into account, his department is preparing to start closely monitoring cryptocurrency traders, the Moskovsky Komsomolec newspaper quoted him as saying.

Bill regulating crypto to be submitted in March

A draft law designed to regulate cryptocurrency transactions may be ready within a couple of weeks and filed with the lower house of the Russian parliament next month, Ivan Chebeskov also said.

“Regarding its submission to the State Duma, I think we should complete regulatory procedures within the next two weeks. There are strict deadlines. I think it should happen in March,” he announced.

Meanwhile, it became clear that the Bank of Russia and the Federal Government expect the legislation to be adopted during the spring session of the chamber.

In a statement at the same Alfa Talk conference, the central bank’s First Deputy Governor Vladimir Chistyukhin emphasized:

He expressed hope that an institutional consensus in that regard is possible. Approving the legal framework in the first half of the year will give market participants a long enough transition period to allow them to obtain necessary licenses and prepare the documentation needed to begin operations.

Legislative efforts in Moscow aim to implement a new regulatory concept for crypto assets and related activities, released by the monetary authority in late December.

The proposal envisages recognizing decentralized digital currencies like Bitcoin and fiat-pegged stablecoins as “currency assets” and expanding investor access to them and their derivatives.

Under the upcoming legal framework, which must be adopted by July 1 at the latest, Russia’s existing financial infrastructure will be used to process crypto transactions.

Traditional players such as banks and brokers will be allowed to do that under their existing licenses, while pure crypto platforms will have to apply for authorization separately.

Quoted by the Vedomosti daily on Thursday, the Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Moscow Exchange (MOEX), Sergey Shvetsov, indicated the platform intends to try to take over some of the massive crypto turnover, as soon as that’s legally possible.

Russians currently pay approximately $15 billion in commissions to foreign-based crypto exchanges or coin trading venues operating in the gray sector of the economy, he noted.

“Comparing our profit of approximately $1 billion annually with this $15 billion, which we have the chance to partially return to the legal zone, it may represent a significant increase in the profitability of infrastructure organizations,” Shvetsov remarked.