The Central Bank of Russia has proposed banning the mining and use of cryptocurrencies in Russia.
Reasons cited include calling it a Ponzi scheme that is too volatile to make legitimate investments, an instrument used by criminals, a threat to Russian financial sovereignty, and that it could disrupt Russia’s energy supply while harming the environment.
Russia is currently the third-largest bitcoin producer after the U.S. and Kazakhstan, so a total ban on cryptocurrencies could have ripple effects on the country and the virtual coins.
The move to ban cryptocurrencies has not gone down well with technology leaders and even a finance minister who says a total ban is a bad idea.
According to Ivan Chebeskov, director of the Russian Finance Ministry’s policy department, a total ban would result in the country missing an opportunity for high-tech innovation.
“The world has become very virtualized, and I don’t think we can allow ourselves to just take a high-tech industry and ban it … . We don’t want these technologies to leave the country; they should absolutely be developed inside [Russia],” Chebeskov said.
For more information, read the original story in TechRepublic.