Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a bill on Thursday that bans the use of cryptocurrencies as a means of payment. Domestic Crypto Payments Banned According to the Russian parliament website, a federal law preventing the usage of cryptocurrencies as a means of payment was signed into law yesterday by President Vladimir Putin. “It is prohibited to transfer or accept digital financial assets as a consideration for transferred goods, performed works, rendered services, as well as in any other way that allows one to assume payment for goods (works, services) by a digital financial asset, except as otherwise provided by federal laws,” the law published by the Russian parliament website and translated by Google Translate reads. The draft bill was first introduced on June 7 in the State Duma, the lower house of the Russian Parliament, by Anatoly Aksakov, Chairman of the Financial Market Committee. It was later approved by the Federation Council, the country’s upper parliament house, and sent for consideration to Putin on July 8. Russia’s Ambiguous Stance On Crypto Russia has shown an ambiguous stance toward cryptocurrencies. For instance, the country’s central bank previously called for a ban on crypto mining and transactions, but earlier this year said it was necessary for crypto technology to develop. In May, the Russian central bank stated that it was open to the idea of using cryptocurrencies for international settlements, b...
