Admitting cryptocurrencies for settling foreign economic activity must not 'infect' the entire Russian financial system with them - CBR first deputy governor

MOSCOW. May 24 (Interfax) - Cryptocurrencies must be used in cross-border settlements as part of foreign economic activity in a way that they do not spread throughout the entire Russian financial system, Ksenia Yudaeva, First Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Russia (CBR), said at the Eurasian Economic Forum in Moscow.

"As the Central Bank, our main condition is that creating these platforms does not result in infecting our financial system with cryptocurrencies, and does not create a stir in society associated with the desire to hold such surrogates," Yudaeva said at the forum.

"We have always been against encouraging and somehow generally allowing the use of cryptocurrencies within Russia, though we believe that cryptocurrencies and digital assets can be used in international trade," Yudaeva emphasized.

A bill has been submitted to the State Duma that will regulate a limited amount of cryptocurrency transactions, including mining and the use of the resulting cryptocurrency by participants in foreign trade, Yudaeva noted.

Cross-border settlements are assumed to be conducted as part of the experimental legal regime through a specially created authorized organization that ensures that the participants in the experiment conduct cryptocurrency purchase and sale transactions, Yudaeva added.

A group of State Duma deputies in April 2023 submitted to parliament amendments to the law on experimental legal regimes in the area of digital innovation, which allow the Central Bank to create an experimental platform for the use of cryptocurrencies and digital financial assets in international settlements.