Russia Wants Answers: Central Bank To Track Every Crypto Ruble

According to reports, the Bank of Russia is planning a large-scale audit of the nation’s cryptocurrency holdings and activity in early ￰0￱ review is described as a broad check that would gather data from banks, crypto firms, miners and tax authorities, and could run during the first two months of ￰1￱ say the goal is to map out unreported flows and loans tied to crypto, but details remain ￰2￱ To Target Banks And Firms Reports have disclosed the audit would look at investments in crypto by regulated lenders, any lending or financing linked to crypto businesses, and flows through infrastructure ￰3￱ citing Russian outlets say the central bank plans to cross-reference data from miners, exchanges and the Federal Tax Service to spot gaps between reported activity and actual ￰4￱ scope, based on these accounts, could include both on-chain movement and off-balance sheet arrangements that touch ￰5￱ Official Announcement Seen Based on available coverage, there is no clear, direct statement from the Bank of Russia posted as a public press ￰6￱ stories trace back to national media summaries and analyst ￰7￱ means several important points are uncertain: whether participation by banks and firms would be mandatory; which years or months the audit would cover; and how the central bank defines “crypto holdings” — whether private wallets, foreign accounts, derivatives, or stablecoin exposures are ￰8￱ And Recent Moves The check comes while Russia continues to patch together a framework for crypto ￰9￱ note a split between agencies: some ministries favor clearer rules and taxation for crypto business, while the central bank appears inclined toward tighter oversight to protect financial ￰10￱ notification appears just after other significant stories about crypto flows attributed to Russian-affiliated entities — such as the Kremlin-backed crypto coin that transferred $6 billion since US sanctions — raising concerns of large flows and the risk of sanctions ￰11￱ For Compliance And Tax If the audit results in a finding of significant unreported holdings or lending, there could be ramifications regarding additional reporting responsibilities for banks and increased capital charges for crypto ￰12￱ tax authorities may also leverage this knowledge to pursue unreported tax on gains or ￰13￱ participants say the likely outcome would be more paperwork, greater checks on correspondent relationships, and stronger demands for proof of source of funds when banks deal with crypto ￰14￱ image from Apa.

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