Deputy: Russia may keep cryptocurrency mining under state control

MOSCOW, Jan 21 (PRIME) -- Russia should ban free circulation of cryptocurrencies, but the use of gold-secured stablecoins and mining under the government’s strict control may be kept legal, Vladimir Gutenev, chairman of the industry and trade committee at the State Duma, the parliament’s lower house, told PRIME on Friday.

“Cryptocurrencies should be banned, but we may have such a surrogate financial product like a stablecoin denominated in gold and fully controlled by the government. It would be interesting both to individuals and companies and for all sorts of deposits,” Gutenev said.

“It would be an analogue to the gold ruble, which would not leave any traces in conditions of serious and non-motivated sanctions and the policy of containment not only in the industry of military and technical cooperation, but also ordinary absolutely transparent and non-politicized economic relations.”

The central bank said earlier that it suggested banning cryptocurrency mining and the use of infrastructure of the financial market for any transactions with cryptocurrencies.

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