The RACIB says that the way Russia regulates cryptocurrency businesses right now could lead to direct financial losses for the government.
Local activists have asked Russian President Vladimir Putin to change how the government regulates the cryptocurrency industry.
This is because Russia has not yet fully implemented any legislation pertaining to bitcoin, and they continue to postpone doing so.
On March 6, an open letter was sent to Russian President Vladimir Putin from the Russian Association of Crypto Industry and Blockchain (RACIB).
The name RACIB is given to one of the crypto and blockchain enthusiast groups that are considered to be very important in Russia.
Remarks of the Group in the Letter
In the letter, the group makes the urge that Putin’s cryptocurrency industry shift into a technique that is more secure. They are confident that with the policies introduced by Putin for cryptocurrencies, the crypto industry seems to be thriving.
The RACIB argued in support of cryptocurrencies despite imposing its first cryptocurrency regulation, On Digital Financial Assets, in 2021.
In November 2022, Russian lawmakers proposed changing the country’s cryptocurrency laws, such as by setting up a national cryptocurrency exchange.
The RACIB says some of these changes would make local blockchain developers illegal, making digital banking technology impossible to use in Russia.
Their trading activities will become even more regulated and streamlined in accordance with Russian laws. These rules will provide more security and protection to cryptocurrency users and firms in the country.
Alexander Brazhnikov, the executive director of the RACIB, told Coin-Telegraph that the proposed changes would give Russian law enforcement a lot of ways.
They will use and practice these ways in order to exert force on the group of people who use Bitcoin in a particular region. Their trading activities will be monitored and they will be
Brazhnikov said it would be harder for businesses in the digital asset market to prove that everything they do is legal under Russian law.
Because Russia’s hostile regulatory stance on cryptocurrencies prevents local businesses from fully utilizing the potential of cryptocurrencies. This is the reason why businesses in Russia are not able to adopt cryptocurrencies as per their full potential.
While cryptocurrencies may result in direct financial losses for the government, the RACIB has encouraged Putin to alter Russia’s anti-cryptocurrency regulatory stance.
According to the RACIB
The way the government handles this issue now makes it more likely to fall behind the economies of both friendly and unfriendly countries. As a result of the fact that making use of the new financial technologies will take up more time.
The RACIB says that one of the most significant risks of ignoring the crypto is the possibility that locals will move on to advanced laws.
They may even start committing breaches in order to interact with the technology that is readily available to many countries from around the world.
These regions include countries that are members of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), such as Kazakhstan and Armenia.
The (RACIB) has asked President Putin to set up a working group that will include representatives of the digital asset community. And work with the Russian government to create a crypto regulation policy.
This request was made to get Russia to change its strict stance on regulating cryptocurrencies.
The group wanted to build cross-border payment systems in Russia, the EAEU, and other countries like Brazil, India, China, and South Africa.
Yury Pripachkin, who worked for RACIB in 2021, argued that Russia was doing practically nothing to control the local cryptocurrency industry.
A statement issued by the Russian central bank about cryptocurrency was reinforced just before the release of this news.
Elizaveta Danilova, the head of the Bank of Russia, argued that legalizing investments in cryptocurrencies would be detrimental to the welfare of Russian citizens.
The Bank of Russia has no issues with legalizing cryptocurrency mining or permitting the use of cryptocurrencies in international transactions.