Putin pointed to the high risks of "unsecured" cryptocurrencies

The President admitted the possibility that digital assets are the future, but called for close monitoringbehind the risks that they carry.

Cryptocurrencies are not backed by anything, they havecolossal volatility and carry very high risks, said Russian President Vladimir Putin at the VTB Capital forum "Russia is calling!" So Putin answered the question of what he thinks about cryptocurrencies as an alternative to currencies issued by central banks.

“I believe that you need to listen to those whotalks about these big risks (associated with cryptocurrency - RBC). Although, of course, in some countries, in some economies, cryptocurrencies are being used more and more widely. Maybe this is the future, but we need to closely monitor how this process will develop, ”the President noted.

He recalled that in some countries, cryptocurrencies are used, in others, such as, for example, in China, they are prohibited.

“As for Russia, we will act fromthe realities that are developing with us. There should be some elements of regulation, but not those that would constrain economic activity, ”Putin explained.

At the end of September 2021, the People's Bank of Chinaintroduced a complete ban on crypto transactions. The use of digital assets in the country is tantamount to illegal financial activity. The services that crypto-exchanges provide to residents of the country also turned out to be outside the law.

At the same time, in El Salvador, bitcoin has the statuslegal tender. On September 7, the corresponding law came into force in the country. On the same day, the authorities bought 550 bitcoins, on September 20, they purchased another 150 BTC, on October 28, 420 BTC.

In 2021, the law "On digital financial assets" came into force in Russia. It defines cryptocurrency and prohibits its use to pay for goods and services.

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