Russia could launch a crypto platform similar to the Moscow Exchange according to a government official Anatoly Aksakov, as we are reading more today in our latest cryptocurrency news.

The Chairman of the Committee on Financial Markets of the State Duma, Anatoly Aksakov said that the government is not against the creation of the crypto trading venue in Russia but the entity should comply with the strict regulations and can operate just like the Moscow Exchange. Even though the government and the Bank of Russia are against the crypto industry, most locals are on the opposite corner. Earlier this year, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin claimed that the domestic investors own more than 10 trillion rubles worth of crypto and the total number of the HODLers was estimated to be around 10 million or about 7% of the Russian population.

Despite the interest in crypto, the nation doesn’t have its own exchange and the locals-only rely on foreign platforms like FTX, Kraken, and Binance. After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, some trading venues applied some restrictions like Binance for example which limited its services to citizens that had holdings below 10,000 EUR. Amidst the controversy, Anatoly Aksakov as the top executive at the lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia, hinted that the launch of such exchange might be on its way but he did note that such an organization will be monitored by the central bank and will provide services under strict requirements.

He also believes that the Russian crypto platform should be based on the standards of the exchange:

“And this division, which will work within the framework of a respected organization with great traditions, accustomed to actively interacting with the Central Bank, in my opinion, will best of all cope with the task of carrying out operations with cryptocurrency.”

Regulations in the crypto sector have always been controversial but the central bank insisted on a total ban of all crypto endeavors so the Ministry of Economy thinks applying these rules is the more appropriate step. Aksakov even proposed a bill that outlines digital asses as inapplicable for the payment methods and the approach will preserve the supremacy of the national currency:

“The ruble is the official monetary unit (currency) of the Russian Federation. The aforementioned article sets a prohibition against the introduction of other monetary units or monetary surrogates on the territory of the Russian Federation.”