The Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, Mikhail Mishustin, described crypto assets as “hard tools” and stated that when developing their regulation, they should take into account “all the relevant elements that characterize cryptocurrencies in one way or another”.

“Them [есть], in principle, quite different digital currencies. We have central bank currencies, we have the same bitcoins, altcoins, we have tokens, we have stablecoins. “There are enough stable funds among them – these are stablecoins backed in one way or another by gold or fiat.”

The Prime Minister also stressed that the government, like the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, is against the recognition of digital currencies as a means of payment.

Mishustin noted that the government-approved concept provides “traceability” of crypto transactions and user identity.

According to him, more than 10 million Russians have cryptocurrency wallets with funds “over ten trillion rubles.”

The Prime Minister noted that the authorities are ready to discuss mining issues to encourage investment.

Earlier, Mishustin realized the need to integrate cryptocurrencies into the Russian economy.

The draft law on the regulation of digital currencies, developed by the Ministry of Finance, qualifies them as property and does not allow legal entities and individuals to accept it as a means of payment.

It also enables the execution of transactions with cryptocurrencies through Russian banks, the identification of crypto wallet holders and the separation of investors by qualifications.