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Russia eyes stablecoin integration in cross-border financial transactions — paper

According to State Secretary - Deputy Governor of the Central Bank Alexey Guznov, if there is no responsible entity behind stablecoin and it is calculated by some algorithm it is more similar to digital currencies

MOSCOW, August 26. /TASS/. The Bank of Russia is discussing the possibility of allowing particularly qualified investors (there is no such notion in the law now) to use stablecoins, which fall under the definition of digital financial assets, in cross-border financial transactions, State Secretary - Deputy Governor of the Central Bank Alexey Guznov said in an interview with Izvestia.

"Stablecoins could potentially be used for cross-border payments within the framework of digital asset regulation, as some of them qualify as DFAs," Guznov said when asked about changes in the initiative.

If some particular stablecoin has a responsible entity and in its essence, it is similar to digital financial assets, it can already be used for international settlements under today’s law, he said. Meanwhile if there is no such entity behind stablecoin and it is calculated by some algorithm it is more similar to digital currencies. In order to use them for cross-border settlements it will be necessary to test this out first.

Asked about how talks about this experimental mode were going, Guznov said that a law on crypto mining and allowing it to be used in cross-border settlements in a regulatory sandbox through authorized organizations was passed at the end of the session, adding that now the task of adopting the regulatory sandbox program and other ancillary laws as soon as possible is being looked at.

In the experiment deals with digital currencies will pass through established platforms. This will only be applied to cross-border settlements. Now the possibility of allowing a limited circle of particularly qualified investors to trade in digital currencies is under discussion so that they can buy and sell such assets, though this is an issue for the next stage.