The Russian Finance Ministry said: Crypto should be regulated, not banned

Russia should regulate the crypto market, not ban it, Finance Ministry official Ivan Chebeskov said on Tuesday, appearing to contradict the central bank, which last week proposed banning the use and mining of cryptocurrencies.

"We need to regulate, not ban," Chebeskov said "Regulation is sufficient to protect our citizens."

The Ministry of Finance has prepared a set of proposals and is waiting for the government to evaluate it, he said. Banning crypto transactions and mining would mean undermining the industry's technological development, Chebeskov said. "We need to let these technologies develop."

"We don't want these technologies to leave the country, they should absolutely be developed inside the country," Chebeskov added.

Andrei Lugovoy, a pro-Kremlin lawmaker, who heads the State Duma's working group on crypto, said banning cryptocurrencies was the central bank's initiative alone.

"There are no bans in our proposed amendments - it is not for the central bank to decide what to allow and what to ban," he said.