Internet Ombudsman Proposes Opening Cryptocurrency Exchanges In Crimea

Internet ombudsman has proposed allowing citizens of Crimea to use cryptocurrencies and the opening of a cryptocurrency exchange on the peninsula.

According to a report by local news media, Dmitry Marinichev, a Russian internet ombudsman, has proposed allowing legal and physical persons, with residence registered in Crimea, to use cryptocurrency wallets and freely exchange digital currency into Rubles. Moreover, he believes that the launch of cryptocurrency exchanges in Crimea would also attract new investments in the region. 

Crimea was reunified with Russia after a referendum in March 2014 and is currently administered by the Russian Federation as two federal subjects: the Republic of Crimea and the federal city of Sevastopol. However, Ukraine still claims Crimea as an integral part of its territory, as the Autonomous Republic of Crimea. 

In the meantime, the legal status of Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies is in the development stage. A decision on the legislative status of cryptocurrency and Bitcoin in Russia was recently postponed to Autumn 2017. According to Elina Sidorenko, the head of the Russian working group of cryptocurrency risk assessments, "The ministries of the Russian Federation are taking a step away from the penalty paradigm against cryptocurrencies."