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Russia’s Central Bank sees no obvious need to issue national cryptocurrency

It is difficult to really estimate what advantages will the national digital currency give, the Central Bank chief said

© Artiom Korotaev/TASS

SOCHI, October 10. /TASS/. Russia's Central Bank sees no obvious need to issue a national cryptocurrency, said head of the regulator Elvira Nabiullina speaking at the Finopolis forum of innovative financial technologies.

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"As Russia’s Central Bank, we have been studying this topic and the need to issue a national cryptocurrency is not obvious for us. Not only for technological reasons, but also because it is (difficult) to really estimate what advantages will the national digital currency give, for example, in comparison with existing electronic non-cash payments. There are many risks, and the advantages may not be obvious enough," she said addressing to Deputy Governor of the People’s Bank of China Fan Yifei.

Earlier Nabiullina has repeatedly stressed that the regulator does not support legalization of cryptocurrencies as a legitimate payment facility, but sees the prospects for the blockchain technology.

In turn, Fan Yifei said that China is now exploring the possibility of creating a national cryptocurrency and believes that it is important to cooperate with other countries in developing digital currencies to develop regulatory standards. He did not specify when China is going to launch its national cryptocurrency, saying that at first it was necessary to conduct a number of studies, including taking into account the experience of other countries.

Earlier, the State Duma, lower house of the Russian parliament, adopted a bill on digital financial assets in the first reading. In the original version, the document introduced definitions of such assets (they include cryptocurrency and token). It also legislatively fixed a new type of contract concluded in electronic form - a smart contract, the obligations of which are fulfilled using digital financial technologies.

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