Russian President Vladimir Putin unexpectedly changed his perspective, and gave hope to the crypto enthusiasts, by saying that a surplus of electricity and well-trained crypto miners give Russia an advantage.
Speaking of electricity, in spring 2021, the price (household use) for one kilowatt-hour in Russia was $0.06 and $0.08 for business. And for example, in Italy, the prices were $0.2 household use and $0.18 business, which is way more expensive.
Previously, Cryptocurrencies have been under a threat in Russia, with the government suggesting to ban the use of digital assets all across the board. To be exact, the Central Bank of Russia offered a full-on blanket ban on digital assets, meaning that all crypto operations would be made illegal.
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However, the leader had a video conference on January 26, with members of the Russian government. He didn’t hesitate to start the meeting by discussing the issue that is currently the most popular - cryptocurrency regulations.
Of course, we also have certain competitive advantages here, especially in the so-called mining. I mean the surplus of electricity and the well-trained personnel available in the country.
Recently, Ivan Chebeskov, Russian Finance Minister had an objection to the blanket ban:
We need to give these technologies the opportunity to develop. In this regard, the Ministry of Finance is actively involved in the development of legislative initiatives in terms of regulating this market.
Besides, in December, Central Bank of Russia governor Elvira Nabiullina had a statement in regards to the several questions in Russia, about the future of crypto:
We cannot welcome investments into cryptocurrencies
Nevertheless, Putin noted that the Central Bank is making the effort to introduce the latest technology in this area of activity. But he didn’t forget to mention that crypto carries certain risks.
In 2020, the Central Bank stated that the digital ruble can be an “additional form of money alongside cash and non-cash.”
Telegram CEO Pavel Durov recently remarked on his messaging platform, that the planned crypto prohibition will "destroy a lot of sectors of the high-tech industry."
Furthermore, Russia’s Central Bank wasn’t always on good terms with crypto, and Putin’s opinion isn’t 100% clear currently. There are many contrasting statements going around.
