Russian Central Bank head: cryptocurrency - something ‘highly speculative, volatile’

Elvira Nabiullina has expressed her views about cryptocurrencies to the Russian media. The statements have been made amidst the recent adoption of three draft bills connected to the regulation of this market.

“We are very apprehensive towards cryptocurrencies, as there are dangers coming from two sides, and they are palpable. These are not theoretical dangers” - Nabiullina stressed.

One can speculate that two sides mentioned by Elvira Nabiullina are money laundering and terrorism financing, as both these dangers often come together in the official documents regarding financial crimes. Aside from this comment, the head of the main financial regulator in Russia has noted the extremely risky nature of investments, warning that those who aim for easy money may become the victim of fraudsters.

While being conservative, this view is a considerable evolution in comparison to the narrative of the last year. Throughout the last year, Nabiullina implied that digital currencies were toxic financial tool akin to Ponzi schemes, in one occasion directly comparing the two.

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