Strength of the Unseen Currency
A Russian news agency, The Bell, got access to some semi-classified information from Russian government circles that helped its speculation on the approximate tax from crypto trading in the Eastern European country. Some Russian sectors of authority, which include the Central Bank of Russia, are having a discussion with the central government and security agents over regulations for crypto-related activities.
On the other hand, Russia’s digital currency report signals a value of up to 16.5 trillion rubles (about $214 billion).
In the data, the total crypto market had a capitalization of $1.87 trillion in 2021, with up to 12% of it coming from Russians all over the world. The data also stated that up to 10% of the 12 million crypto users in Russia do utilize foreign crypto exchanges.
Means to the Data
The digital currency report stated that a lot of the figures were based on the various IP addresses from each transaction, but not including those carried out with Virtual Portable Networks or some unauthorized exchange platforms.
Importantly, up to 5.5% out of the stated 12 million crypto users use Binance, and 60% share belongs to EXMO that is a crypto exchange firm based in the United Kingdom. EXMO was founded in 2014.
The data also singled out 17.4% of a crypto exchange platform banned in Russia, the LocalBitcoins. The western part of Russia is said to have up to 40% in shares in the daily volume trading of $20 billion in Europe. Furthermore, approximately 12% of Russians are said to have at least one crypto wallet each, which amounts to more than 17 million users.
Just last week, the Chamber of Commerce in Russia made a proposition to the country’s Ministry of Finance, urging it to give recognition to Bitcoin mining as a legitimate business. The proposition came up as The Bell’s publication revealed that by estimate, the cryptocurrency market has the potential to generate up to 15% of the country’s GDP if given a chance.
The Head of Russia’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Sergey Katyrin, said that it is expedient to assess the reality of countries that have allowed cryptocurrencies as a form of digital expression and communication of value rather than a means of transactions, whereas crypto exchange for valuable items a seen as a form of the barter transaction.
In spite of the difference in opinions, one can confidently say the Russian crypto space has become so big that it cannot just be banned. Importantly, the sector can be fully taxed to increase government revenue by billions.