Russian President Vladimir Putin has promised to ban cryptocurrency payments with a new law that would make it illegal to pay with digital assets in the country.
The long-awaited move follows years of discussions between the Russian Central Bank and the country's government over whether to allow cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin.
However, the move could be bad news for many Russian companies, which are expected to use cryptocurrencies to ease some of the sanctions imposed on the country following the invasion of Ukraine earlier this year.
Russia bans cryptocurrencies
A translation of the law featured on the government website by Decrypt (opens in a new tab) reads:
"It is prohibited to transfer or accept digital financial assets in exchange for goods transferred, works performed, services provided, as well as in any other way assume the payment of goods (works, services) by a digital financial asset institution, except that it is state otherwise required by federal law.
There have been several proposals regarding unregulated currencies, and like the regulations first proposed by the Department of Finance in February 2022, Saturday's law prohibits the use of cryptocurrencies to buy or sell things.
A complete ban on cryptocurrency trading has not been enacted, and Russian citizens can still invest in cryptocurrencies.
In other parts of the world, electric vehicle supergiant Tesla currently accepts Dogecoin payments for eligible products using a third-party "Dogecoin wallet," while the company has also expressed confidence in Bitcoin.
Despite the news, President Putin previously expressed interest in cryptocurrencies, where he proclaimed that Russia has "certain competitive advantages" including its "excess electricity" according to Decrypt, giving the country a powerful foothold in Europe, a continent in which many countries depend on its gas supplies.
Some of the major cryptocurrency trading platforms, such as Binance and Coinbase, have also said that they will comply with US and EU laws when it comes to trading in Russia.