Binance And Russia Team Up For Bank Association Regulatory Policy

Binance and Russia

Welcome back to the Tribe! In this post we dive into the Binance and Russia news over regulatory policy!

Nothing should be considered investment or financial advice. Enjoy the ride!

Binance and Russia

Popular cryptocurrency exchange Binance has joined the Association of Russian Banks as the country moves towards building a nationwide regulatory framework to oversee crypto activity in its jurisdiction.

CZ’s Company Joins Association of Russian Banks

Arab News reported that Changpeng Zhao’s Binance has teamed up with the Association of Russian banks. The crypto exchange is expected to contribute knowledge and advice to the association aimed at developing regulatory policies for the digital currency industry in Russia.

According to reports, the Association of Russian banks which includes over 300 financial service providers, launched a department dedicated to communicating with federal authorities regarding the burgeoning crypto space. The so-called Expert Centre for Digital Financial Assets and Digital Currencies was officially announced on Friday (February 18, 2022).

Officials stated that the association has also been created to prepare professional judgement on the turnover of virtual assets. In addition to announcing the new expert centre, the Director of Binance in Russia, Olga Goncharova, was appointed to head the department as an expert in the field.

Binance’s Eastern European Director, Gleb Kostarev, confirmed that the world’s largest crypto exchange by trading volume has indeed joined the Association of Russian banks. Kostarev also revealed that Binance becomes the first digital currency platform to interact closely with the country’s traditional financial system.

Furthermore, Kostarev added that Russia marks a key foothold for Binance as the exchange moves towards offering its services in the jurisdiction and solidifying its dominance in the region. The exchange aims to tap into Russia’s $5 billion annual cryptocurrency transaction volume, per comments from Binance representatives.

Russia Closer to Standardized Crypto Regulatory Framework

President Vladimir Putin reportedly instructed regulators to reach an agreement regarding proposed legislature for regulating cryptocurrencies earlier in February 2022. Putin opined that Russia could benefit from accepting crypto. Also, the country is fast becoming a Bitcoin (BTC) mining authority and currently accounts for 11.2% of the global hash rate.

The announcement regarding Binance also brings Russian authorities a step closer to establishing regulatory oversight for crypto. Although rhetoric from the country’s central bank insists that banning crypto remains a safer option, the consensus between Russia’s Finance Ministry and the federal government currently leans towards regulation instead.

In an attempt to push for legalization, the Russian Finance Ministry submitted its first draft for crypto regulations on Monday (February 21, 2022). The bill proposes that exchanges must obtain financial business licenses before operating within Russia.

Also, the draft suggests that crypto should be accepted as an investment vehicle and not a payment method. In addition, limits will be placed on individual investments on an annual basis. The limits will be decided by a financial literacy test administered by crypto exchanges before onboarding customers, per the proposed bill.

In addition, the Finance Ministry proposes strict know-your-customer (KYC) verification before investors are allowed to deploy capital.