Denis Manturov, Russia’s Minister of Industry and Trade, revealed that regulation of the digital currency industry is about to happen. The minister expects the legalization of digital currencies in Russia to happen this year.

Tass Russian press briefing reports that Manturov made this statement during a speech at the New Horizon educational forum. The minister argued that Russia has gone beyond the question of “whether” digital currencies should be legalized.

The Central Bank of Russia (CBR) and the Russian government are now fully engaged in drafting regulations for digital currencies. So the question now is when the legislation will be ready, he said.

“The question is when will it happen, how will it happen and how will it be regulated. Today, the Central Bank and the government are actively engaged in it. But everyone is inclined to understand that this is a trend of the times, and sooner or later, in one format or another, it will come true,” the minister said.

He added that the rules will still be in line with Russian market laws. Manturov’s comment comes after the opinions of the CBR and the Russian Ministry of Finance on digital currency adoption aligned.

Prior to the declaration of war on Ukraine, the CBR was pushing for a ban on digital currencies while the Ministry of Finance proposed a bill to regulate and tax the industry.

However, the CBR has flip-flopped in its views. The central bank even issued its first license to a commercial bank to issue digital currencies, according to Fortune. report.

Similarly, the CBR is also accelerating its work on a central bank digital currency (CBDC). Elvira Nabiullina, president of CBR, announced that a pilot phase of the digital ruble will probably be launched in 2023.

Will digital currencies help Russia evade sanctions?

As Russia seriously considers adopting the digital currency, doubts remain that the asset class will help it evade the international sanctions it faces. On the one hand, the international sanctions that Russia faces also prohibit trading them with digital currencies.

One of these sanctions comes from the US Treasury Department. The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has added digital currency rules to its Russian sanctions. Under OFAC rules, no U.S. citizen or entity should do business with a designated Russian entity.

CNBC reports that international sanctions have put a strain on Russia’s multi-trillion dollar digital currency market and its block reward mining industry.

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