Russia is Embracing Crypto Because of Tax Revenue Potential

by Marcus Sotiriou, Analyst at the UK based digital asset broker GlobalBlock

Russia’s government as well as the country’s central bank have reached an agreement to draft legislation by February 18th which recognises crypto as a form of currency. This is in contrast to the central bank’s proposal last month, suggesting that miners and other crypto businesses should be banned due to the threat to the country’s financial system. A draft document said that crypto’s use as legal money will only be possible following proper identity checks via the country’s banking system or licensed intermediaries – it will be considered a criminal offense to transact outside these parameters.

This move from Russia comes after authorities in Moscow project the country could earn $13 billion per year in taxes from the Russian crypto market. Furthermore, analysts predict that the Russian crypto market is valued at over $214 billion, which is about 12% of the total value of the global crypto market.

Aside from the huge tax revenue, Russia could be using Bitcoin to hedge against the U.S. foreign policy. I think this will send a message to the United States, and many other nations, that they are falling behind in the crypto revolution, with their ambiguous approach towards regulation. It was only a week or so ago when it was announced that crypto is legal in India.

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