News
After the US rejected the idea of a CBDC following Trump's election, it’s yet to be seen whether other countries have any success with their national digital currency projects.
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Russia News
Russia, or the Russian Federation, is the world’s biggest country in terms of land mass. On a map, Russia sits above Kazakhstan, Mongolia and China. Russia dwarfs China in geographic coverage but not in population, although Russia still has one of the largest populations globally. The ruble serves as Russia’s national currency.
Cryptocurrency usage in Russia faces restrictions due to legislation, including President Vladimir Putin’s 2020 law legalizing but banning crypto use for goods. A 2022 bill, at odds with the Bank of Russia, treats crypto as an investment tool, not legal tender. It proposes fines of up to 500,000 rubles for individuals and 1 million rubles for companies engaged in crypto trading or issuance.
Additionally, the Bank of Russia is actively developing a central bank digital currency, with plans to expand the pilot program by 2023 and achieve a full launch in 2025. Moreover, cryptocurrencies cannot be used for payments in Russia, and stringent criteria apply to exchanges and over-the-counter desks for licensing. Foreign exchanges must register in Russia to operate. All crypto-to-fiat transactions require bank accounts, and users must undergo Know Your Customer checks with banks and exchanges, reflecting Russia’s cautious stance on cryptocurrency regulation.
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As the Russian government reportedly eyes ruble-backed stablecoins, a local industry executive warned that a viable “Tether replica” would require a lot of effort.
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Mosca, which allows investors to buy up to 100,000 USDT with cash daily, could not confirm whether its platform had anything to do with a local $6 million fraud scheme.
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Russia’s central bank announced a proposal in March to allow a limited number of Russian investors with a certain amount of assets to buy and sell cryptocurrencies under a three-year experimental regime.
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Crypto drainers have evolved into an accessible, professionalized software-as-a-service industry, enabling low-skill actors to steal cryptocurrency.
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The deputy head of Russia’s Finance Ministry’s financial policy department, Osman Kabaloev, has reportedly said the country should be developing its own stablecoins.
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Bitcoin may see growing recognition as a safe-haven asset thanks to its maturing volatility profile and growing institutional recognition as a digital gold alternative.
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US officials sanctioned eight crypto wallet addresses tied to Russian exchange Garantex and the Yemeni Houthi movement after blockchain forensics linked nearly $1 billion in funds to Houthi operations.
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North Korea’s pause in cyberattacks during late 2024 may have been a resource reallocation ahead of the largest cryptocurrency hack in history.
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Evgeny Masharov, a member of the Russian Civic Chamber, said that forfeited crypto “should work for the benefit of the government.”
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Gotbit founder Aleksei Andriunin has agreed to forfeit about $23 million in Tether USDt and USDC in a plea deal with Massachusetts federal prosecutors.
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Garantex, a sanctioned Russian crypto exchange, had its $27 million in Tether frozen in early March, and its operator was arrested in India less than a week later.
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A US-led tariff war, preexisting economic sanctions, and global Bitcoin and stablecoin adoption could play a role in some countries’ attempts to dedollarize.
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Russian oil firms are using Bitcoin and USDt for trade with China and India despite global sanctions, according to Reuters.
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Russia plans a three-year crypto trial for select investors under an experimental legal regime to regulate digital currencies and market transparency.
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