According to Cryptonews, Elvira Nabiullina, the Governor of the Russian Central Bank, reiterated in her speech at the State Duma on April 3 that the use of cryptocurrencies in the domestic economy should be restricted and advocated for stricter punishment for violations of the ban. Nabiullina is an important ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin and currently leads the Russian central bank's sovereign digital currency (digital ruble) project. She pointed out that although the central bank supports exploring cross-border applications of cryptocurrency assets within a specific "regulatory sandbox" framework, it firmly opposes their infiltration into the domestic currency system and settlement activities.
Russia has banned cryptocurrency payments since 2020, but current law enforcement is relatively lenient and there is a lack of clear legal framework for related transactions. Nabiullina called for increased legal responsibility for the use of cryptocurrencies for payment activities within Russia, stating, "Our position has not changed. We cannot allow cryptocurrencies to infiltrate domestic currency circulation and domestic settlements. We recommend seeking investment opportunities in cryptocurrencies and increasing responsibility for the use of cryptocurrencies in domestic settlements
Nabiulina also supports allowing "high net worth qualified investors" to invest in cryptocurrency assets within the "sandbox", and proposes to discuss expanding some derivative investment permissions to ordinary qualified investors. She emphasized that retail investors should be protected from the risks of high volatility in the cryptocurrency market.
In addition, after Nabiullina's speech, Anatoly Aksakov, Chairman of the State Duma Financial Markets Committee, pointed out that Moscow still has differences on cryptocurrency regulation issues. There is a clear divergence of opinions within the Duma on cryptocurrency regulation, with some members supporting restrictions and others showing strong interest.
