Aug 28, 2016 at 10:09 // Politics

Nina Lyon Author

The Russian Ministry of Finance is against any "outright ban" of Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies.



According to the statement, from Deputy Finance Minister Alexei Moiseev, the text of the bill on cryptocurrency use in Russia is ready. On August 26, Alexei Moiseev stated:



"Now I want to hold a series of meetings with experts and think once again what we need to do. Perhaps, considering the development of technology, it won’t be wise to make outright ban."



As reported earlier, the Ministry of Finance wants to take a series of meeting with experts before making any final decision.

Moiseev continued:



"We need to limit the freedom for thieves to use Bitcoins for illegal actions and money laundering.”



However, Moiseev commented that some European official sources state that 80% of all suspicious transactions related to illegal actions are made using Bitcoin. According to him, the Ministry of Finance wants to limit such actions, including the financing of terrorism.







Moiseev also mentioned that this bill must ensure and protect the role of the Central Bank of Russia as the only money emission center in the country.



"On the other hand, we must ensure that only central bank has position of money emission center. While, basically, speaking about all the rest (which is not subject of statutory bar) you can do it if you want to,” said Moiseev.



Still, we must note that this is not the first time Ministry of Finance has changed its decision. Previously, Bitcoin expert and founder of the largest Russian cryptocurrency forum and informational website Bits.Media, Ivan Tikhonov commented for CoinIdol.com:

“I suggest waiting for the publication of the law, which is promised to be made this fall. To date, we haven’t seen the text of the bill, and we don’t know what other changes there will be.”