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Vladimir Putin Offers Hope for Crypto in Face of Central Bank Call for Ban
Crypto's risk must be offset against the country's "competitive advantages" when it comes to mining, Russia's leader said.
Updated May 11, 2023, 6:35 p.m. Published Jan 26, 2022, 5:06 p.m.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has called for consensus between his country's government and the central bank following the latter's recent call for an outright ban on crypto.
- Speaking in a video conference with government ministers on Wednesday, Putin asked for "some kind of unanimous opinion" between his government and the Bank of Russia to be formed via discussions in the near future.
- Russia's central bank called for a complete ban on crypto in a report last week, citing its volatility and use for illegal activities.
- The Bank of Russia's crypto ban call has been opposed by the country's finance ministry on the grounds that it would undermine the industry's technological development.
- "The central bank has its own position. It is connected with the fact that the expansion of this type of activity carries certain risks, and first of all for the citizens of the country, given the high volatility and some other components of this topic," Putin said.
- This should, however, be offset against "certain competitive advantages" that Russia holds when it comes to mining, due to the country's surplus of electricity and "well-trained personnel," according to the Russian head of state.
- As of August, Russia was the world's third-largest bitcoin mining country behind the U.S. and China, according to the University of Cambridge's Center of Alternative Finance.
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Read more: Russian Ministries, Duma Want to Legalize Crypto Mining: Report
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Trading activity softened in March as market uncertainty grew amid escalating tariff tensions between the U.S. and global trading partners. Centralized exchanges recorded their lowest combined trading volume since October, declining 6.24% to $6.79tn. This marked the third consecutive monthly decline across both market segments, with spot trading volume falling 14.1% to $1.98tn and derivatives trading slipping 2.56% to $4.81tn.
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- Institutional Crypto Trading Volume on CME Falls 23.5%: In March, total derivatives trading volume on the CME exchange fell by 23.5% to $175bn, the lowest monthly volume since October 2024. CME's market share among derivatives exchanges dropped from 4.63% to 3.64%, suggesting declining institutional interest amid current macroeconomic conditions.
- Bybit Spot Market Share Slides in March: Spot trading volume on Bybit fell by 52.1% to $81.1bn in March, coinciding with decreased trading activity following the hack of the exchange's cold wallets in February. Bybit's spot market share dropped from 7.35% to 4.10%, its lowest since July 2023.
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