Russia's New Crypto Bill Could Ban Bitcoin (BTC) Payments

A new bill brought forward by the State Duma could ban any form of cryptocurrency payments in Russia.

What Happened: According to a new piece of legislation put forward by Anatoly Aksakov, the head of Russia’s lower chamber of parliament, any form of “digital financial actives” will be banned as a means of payment within the country.

“The ruble is the official monetary unit (currency) of the Russian Federation. The aforementioned article sets a prohibition against the introduction of other monetary units or monetary surrogates on the territory of the Russian Federation,” wrote Aksakov.

To be passed, the bill has to go through three stages of consideration at the State Duma, after which it will be sent to the Federation Council and then to the office of President Vladimir Putin for final approval.

Last year, Putin said he believes cryptocurrency has a right to exist and be used as a means of payment.

The country’s finance ministry believes in imposing regulations on the sector, while the central bank favors a total ban on them within the country, although it isn’t opposed to their use in international transactions.

Earlier this month, Benzinga reported that Ksenia Yudaeva, the First Deputy Governor of Russia’s central bank, said she has no objection to the country’s citizens using crypto for payments outside the nation.

Russians have been active traders of Bitcoin BTC/USD, Ethereum ETH/USD, Dogecoin DOGE/USD, and other cryptocurrencies. A recent report found that 2% of Russia’s total electricity goes towards mining crypto.

See Also: WHAT IS CRYPTOCURRENCY MINING?

Price Action: According to data from Benzinga Pro, Bitcoin was trading at $30,262, down 2.73% over the last 24 hours.