Basic Element boss and a popular billionaire in Russia, Oleg Deripaska, slammed the Central Bank of Russia over its policy about allowing the use of cryptocurrencies as part of the legal mode of payment. The tycoon said that the country should follow what El Salvador has done recently.
The Central American nation headed by President Nayib Bukele has been persistent to push the bill that would allow bitcoin to be the country's legal tender. In short, what Bukele wanted is to incorporate the world's largest cryptocurrency as part of its system.
Russian Billionaire Hits Central Bank's Cryptocurrency Policy
Basic Element CEO Oleg Deripaska
According to an updated report by Crypto Potato, Russian industrialist Oleg Deripaska was urging the Central Bank of Russia to adopt bitcoin in future transactions. The founder of Basic Element saw that what the financial institution is doing bars the citizens from exploring $BTC.
Deripaska also wanted the bank to be more inclined in diverse areas which include energy, agriculture, and more. At the moment, the tycoon's net worth sits at $4.7 billion. In 2018, Deripaska's companies received sanctions launched by the US Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control.
In the context of bitcoin, the criticism was traced to his channel in Telegram last week. What he pointed out is Russia's weak cryptocurrency policy. He compared it to what El Salvador has done which marked history by legalizing bitcoin as an official currency.
What El Salvador did has received a positive mark from congress. The country has been dedicated to giving its people a more flexible option when paying bills and services using a digital currency. The World Bank said that the country has been suffering from poverty in the past, but there is now a poverty reduction.
Truly, making bitcoin legal tender will be a new policy that people will adopt soon. El Salvador has been reliant on the energy coming out of volcanoes in bitcoin mining.
However, as the World Bank cited, there were environmental concerns and transparency issues that would be affected during this implementation. This resulted in the rejection of bitcoin legalization in the country.
Deripaska, on the other hand, said that financial technologies should be developed. He even questioned the moment when the Russians accepted "financial instruments" relevant to foreign trade undertakings. In his opinion, the press releases about their development should be spread across the country, Bitcoin News reported on Monday, June 21.
Read Also: Paraguay Will Legislate Cryptocurrency in July - Crypto as A Legal Tender
A Prototype for the Digital Russian Ruble
Last May, Russia's main bank was planning to release the focused prototype for the country's main currency, the ruble. It is expected to arrive at the end of 2021. For this development, there would be a digital code inside the electronic wallets which would work as a physical Russian currency.
In a statement last week, Sergey Lavrov, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia said that the significance of cryptocurrencies will be seen in the future. Additionally, they would appear in several " international settlements."
Related Article: El Salvador Denied By World Bank For its Legal Tender Request, Global Institution Cites Crypto's Impact in Environment [UPDATE]
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Written by Joseph Henry
