Bitcoin Adoption Grows Inwards Russia; Caput Of Banking Concern Of Russia, Olga Skorobogatova, Says Bitcoin To Live On Regulated, Non Banned

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The futurity of digital currencies inwards Russian Federation remained uncertain for most of 2016, precisely recent comments past times the Olga Skorobogatova, Deputy Governor of the Bank of Russia, conduct maintain shed some low-cal on how Russian fiscal regulators experience close cryptocurrencies.

In an interview at the 2017 Gaidar Forum, Skorobogatova told the press that at that topographic point are no plans to impose whatsoever bans on the usage of Bitcoin inside the Russian Federation at the introduce time:

“As to Bitcoin, which is a mortal currency, it has became clear that things are non every bit uncomplicated as well as every bit it is written inwards books as well as magazines. The seat of the regulatory agencies is that nosotros would non similar to specifically prohibit it, precisely nosotros would similar to get-go sympathise it, as well as hence construct a regulatory framework.”

Skorobogatova’s remarks are inwards abrupt contrast to other Russian officials similar Deputy Finance Minister Alexei Moiseev, who has made repeated attempts over the final ii years to transcend legislation that would impose strong prison theatre sentences on bitcoin users inside Russia.

But despite the opposition from some regulators, bitcoin usage as well as popularity inside the Russian Federation has grown substantially inwards 2016. More recently, St. Petersburg-based fitness chain, NanoFitness, began accepting the digital currency at several of their fitness studios inwards Petrograd as well as Tyumen.

Bitcoin sign posted at the door of NanoFitness
And inwards December, 2016, Russian presidential candidate as well as violent Putin critic, Alexey Navalny, started accepting bitcoin donations - inwards improver to PayPal as well as Yandex.Money - for his crusade inwards the 2018 election. As of today, Navalny’s bitcoin donation address has received about 22.6 BTC ($18,758/1,117,976.8 Russian rubles) inwards donations.

Leonid Volkov, who heads Navalny's presidential campaign, said inwards a tweet that bitcoin donations stand upwards for 15% of all donations received hence far.

Никогда такого не видел: 3.5 часа, и собрали первый миллион рублей.
55% на Яндекс, 30% на Paypal, 15% (!) биткоинами.

— Leonid Volkov (@leonidvolkov) December 13, 2016