The Russian Minister of Communications and Mass Media, Nikolai Nikiforov, has expressed his belief that bitcoin will not be legally recognized as a means of payment in the Russian Federation. Despite the statements, Russia still appears poised to make a bid for global dominance in the cryptocurrency mining industry.
On November 20, Mr. Nikiforov told reporters “bitcoin is a foreign project for using blockchain technology, the Russian law will never consider bitcoin as a legal entity in the jurisdiction of the Russian Federation. However, I think that it is quite possible to use blockchain technology and the use of various digital tokens.”

The announcement comes one month after Russia’s Communication Ministry submitted a “draft decree regulating the legal adoption of cryptocurrency.” Despite the draft decree, it was indicated that the Bank of Russia and the Finance Ministry would ultimately determine the country’s regulatory apparatus. Earlier this week, Russia’s deputy finance minister, Alexei Moiseev, announced his expectation that Russia’s new cryptocurrency bill “should be formulated by February 1 in the framework of the president’s mandate.”