Russia may impose fees on "unfriendly" cryptocurrency transactions to protect investors

Odaily Planet Daily News: Russian Deputy Finance Minister Ivan Chebeškov stated that Russia may introduce fees, recommendations, and technical protection mechanisms for "unfriendly" cryptocurrency transactions to protect Russian investors.

During the preparation of the second reading of the bill on regulating the crypto market, one of the key topics was discussing whether to allow specific digital assets, including USDT and BNB, to participate in transactions. Ivan Chebeškov noted that the operation of such instruments may pose high risks to Russian users, and therefore, additional protective measures are being considered, including economic incentives such as fees or recommendations to encourage citizens to hold other assets.

Previously, the Russian Ministry of Finance considered excluding USDT from the crypto market regulation system, but industry participants expressed their willingness to assume the risks of using this instrument on their own. Furthermore, in the regulatory concept proposed by the Central Bank of Russia last December, it was suggested to recognize digital currencies and stablecoins as foreign exchange assets, allowing their purchase and sale but prohibiting their use for paying for goods and services domestically. Unqualified investors may purchase the most liquid cryptocurrencies after passing a specific test, and the annual limit for purchasing assets through a single intermediary does not exceed 300,000 rubles. (TASS)