February 21, 2018, 21:40 / Economics

The Ministry of Finance will support private cryptocurrency in Russia, subject to control

The Russian Ministry of Finance will object to the creation of a private Russian cryptocurrency under two conditions. This is stated in a letter from Finance Minister Anton Siluanov to President Vladimir Putin, Interfax reports (the letter is at the agency’s disposal).

In particular, the Russian department will not object to the release of a private cryptocurrency if there is no government investment in the project to create a cryptocurrency in Russia, and also provided that appropriate control is ensured by the financial authorities.

An attempt to use the national cryptocurrency as a means of attracting foreign investment into the national economy will apparently face the problem of exchanging it for foreign currency, the letter notes. Recently, there have been reports of restrictions on the access of Russian users to foreign cryptocurrency exchanges; in the future, we can expect restrictions on the entry of the Russian national cryptocurrency to international platforms, it is noted there. Consequently, the creation of a national cryptocurrency with a single emission center is impossible due to the technical features of the “emission” of cryptocurrencies based on distributed ledger technology, Siluanov believes.

Previously, Venezuela released its own cryptocurrency, El Petro. The special portal elpetro.gob.ve provides guidance on purchasing Venezuelan cryptocurrency for individuals and legal entities from any country. The national cryptocurrency will strengthen the country’s economy, says Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.