Major Russian Bank Pushes for Bitcoin Legalization

Like many countries, Russian bureaucrats and bankers are discussing how to classify and tax cryptocurrency. In 2014, their central bank argued that Bitcoin should be banned, but since then, the sentiment seems to have been reversed. As Luke Parker writes in BraveNewCoin:

Meanwhile, Russia’s largest bank, Sberbank, has been a major proponent of Bitcoin and blockchain technology, calling for legalization and running various blockchain experiments.

“In my view, it is critically important to determine the role and position of the government and even better to stimulate instead of prohibit the development of groundbreaking technologies, namely the blockchain,” said Sberbank CEO, Herman Gref, late last year.

The Russian Finance Minister, Anton Siluanov, recently added that “the state understands indeed that cryptocurrencies are real [...] There is no sense in banning them, there is a need to regulate them.”

Good luck with your regulations, Russian politicians!