A Russian bank is testing the tracking of customers’ crypto activities, with potential plans for nationwide implementation, according to lawmaker Anton Tkachev.
The pilot program’s details remain undisclosed, including the bank’s identity and criteria for crypto-oriented customers. The goal is to enable state corporations to use cryptocurrencies for transactions due to Western sanctions limiting Russia’s international business options.
Tkachev suggested that state corporations could start using crypto in the first half of the next year. This would allow them to conduct settlements with crypto currencies and counter the western sanctions.
The Russian government also seeks to leverage existing decentralized finance liquidity to revive the local financial market, despite President Vladimir Putin’s bill banning crypto payments.
In 2022, Russia registered 13 million crypto wallets, though details on this statistic are missing.
The Russian bank’s move to track crypto activities for state corporations reflects a strategic response to economic sanctions, albeit in contrast to Putin’s crypto payment ban.
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