BitRiver, the largest cryptocurrency mining colocation services provider in Russia, is unlikely to be affected by a new crypto crackdown from the Bank of Russia, according to the firm\u2019s CEO.<\/p>\n
On Wednesday, the Russian central bank announced that the authority has started working with local banks in order to slow down payments to cryptocurrency exchanges.<\/p>\n
Sergey Shvetsov, the first deputy governor at the Bank of Russia, reportedly said that the regulator is now considering amending the law to \u201cmore clearly prohibit the use of cryptocurrency\u201d and introduce additional administrative and criminal liabilities.<\/p>\n
While Shvetsov did not clarify what kind of crypto transactions exactly would be restricted as part of the new regulatory crackdown, the official noted that the bank wants to halt payments to crypto exchanges in order to protect customers from \u201cemotional\u201d purchases of crypto.<\/p>\n
BitRiver founder and CEO Igor Runets told Cointelegraph that new restrictions planned by Russia\u2019s central bank will unlikely affect any of its clients, as the firm does not operate a crypto mining facility but rather provides data centers for foreign companies.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t send crypto to exchanges; we have none of our own equipment, and this bank\u2019s move will not affect our clients because they operate in foreign jurisdictions,\u201d Runets noted.<\/p>\n
According to Runets, BitRiver has been long expecting tough crypto policies from the Russian government, recommending its Russian clients to use BitRiver\u2019s crypto data centers by setting up a foreign company. \u201cNow we have no problem,\u201d Runets said.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom time to time, we hear that clients want to make a company in Russia so that it is more convenient to deliver equipment from abroad. But even for them, the Bank of Russia doesn\u2019t really bother since the cryptocurrency doesn\u2019t enter the account of a Russian company,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n