Back at the beginning of the year, it seemed that of all the global powers, Russia was the least cryptocurrency-friendly country. Meanwhile, the attitude of many in power, including Vladimir Putin, seems to contradict these hypotheses.
Dynamic changes
Just two weeks ago, we published a news item titled “Russia’s Finance Minister believes that banks should be allowed to sell cryptocurrencies”. In it we described the situation that is taking place in the largest country in the world. Recall that at the beginning of the year the local central bank suggested banning citizens from accessing digital assets. The mines that would most likely have to leave Russia were also threatened here. Meanwhile, the Minister of Finance Anton Siluanov announced that cryptocurrencies should be recognized as fully legal, and even every Russian should have access to them via their own bank account. The perception of virtual assets was reinforced a moment later by Vladimir Putin, who let the public know that Russia could become a strong region supporting crypto mining.
At this point, it is worth noting that already after the United States and Kazakhstan, Russia is the country with the highest Hash Rate, amounting to as much as 11.2% of the total global mining capacity.
Bitcoin recognized as a currency?
As it turns out, the above information is not the only good news coming from the largest country on the planet. The proposal that banks would license cryptocurrencies to their customers has become the basis for treating Bitcoin and altcoins as legitimate currencies. Russian parliamentarians are currently working on such legislation. In addition, according to the Ministry of Economic Development, miners should pay lower amounts for the use of electricity. All proposals are to be sorted out and debated by February 18.
The decisive moves that Russia is presenting are entitled to provoke similar reactions in other countries of the globe. In addition, Russian energy wealth, while low cost to use, will become very competitive, which could trigger a domestic increase in the Hash Rate.
Owning two mining operations, Whit Gibbs, CEO of Compass Mining sums up the combination of these events as follows:
“I think most nations are already considering taking similar steps to recognize Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies as currency. This positive outcome will possibly influence other nations to take the same official stance.”
There is one more fact that has aroused the curiosity of market watchers. Russia has looked towards cryptocurrencies with a very favorable eye, at a time when there were rumors about its potential disconnection from the SWIFT payment system. If Moscow’s moves are motivated by these facts, it could mean that cryptocurrencies have matured enough to start fulfilling the role they were created for in the global payment system. We shall see!
