While Russia was recently considering widespread legalization of cryptocurrency trading, it seems that its central bank wants to accompany this opening with increased oversight. On the agenda: new requirements for banks to report crypto transactions.
Authorize cryptocurrencies? Under certain strict conditions
It seems that the current implementation of specific regulations for the cryptocurrency market around the world is inevitably accompanied by a desire for increased surveillance of their holders by regulatory authorities.
This has long been accepted in the European Union, particularly with the implementation—which is highly problematic from a security standpoint—of the DAC8 tax directive, which has been in effect since the beginning of the year. Even American crypto players are paying the price, as initially favorable crypto legislation is proving to be much more problematic than expected.
It was against this backdrop that Russia made a remarkable entry at the end of last year, following its decision to lift the national ban on cryptocurrencies. Indeed, there is talk of proposing a generalized legalization of their trading, but not without adding certain monitoring options.
These developments were reported in the Russian media outlet Bits.media, which covered a request issued by the Russian Monetary Authority that would require commercial banks to provide mandatory and detailed reports on all of their customers’ transactions involving cryptocurrencies.
Increased monitoring of cryptocurrencies and tokenized securities
In concrete terms, this desire to monitor crypto transactions is part of a broader approach by the Russian central bank to collect from banks “a set of detailed information on almost all international monetary transactions by Russians.”
According to the information available, this includes the nationality of the sender and recipient of the transfer (to determine whether or not they are Russian), the method used and the intermediary involved, as well as the fees charged by the bank.
The Central Bank of Russia will require specific reports to separate transactions involving the purchase and sale of cryptocurrencies, as well as tokenized securities. These are digital financial assets involving the tokenization of real assets: securities, precious metals, and others.
Bits.media
This monitoring of crypto transfers is clearly part of the Russian central bank’s desire to review its procedures in order to take into account, but also to estimate, the importance of these economic innovations in the national balance of payments.
Banks themselves will also have to comply with these new rules, in particular by providing full information on their investments in crypto-assets and loans granted to crypto companies.
