Chairman of the Financial Markets Committee of the Russian State Duma: Cryptocurrencies will never become currency in Russia; they can only be used as investment tools.

PANews reported on December 17th, citing DL News, that Anatoly Aksakov, Chairman of the Financial Market Committee of the Russian State Duma, stated that legislators support the central bank's opposition to the use of cryptocurrencies for payments between individuals and companies. Aksakov said, "We must understand that cryptocurrencies will never be currency in Russia; they can only be used as an investment tool. When payments are needed, they must be made solely in rubles."

Aksakov made these remarks as the government prepared to regulate the cryptocurrency industry in Russia, despite the central bank's resistance, given the rising adoption rate of cryptocurrencies within the country. The central bank has repeatedly called for a complete ban on cryptocurrencies, while the Ministry of Finance favors regulating exchanges and taxing traders' profits. Neither side was willing to compromise on this issue, and they each proposed competing bills to ban or legalize the cryptocurrency-related industry. These bills ultimately failed, stalling in the State Duma committees after four years of deadlock.