I just noticed something interesting happening in Russia. The Russian Central Bank recently announced that it will require its citizens to declare their crypto asset holdings abroad. Basically, if you have cryptocurrencies stored in wallets or platforms outside the country, you’ll have to report it to the Federal Tax Service.

The curious thing is that they are not banning people from holding crypto assets abroad. What they’re seeking is full transparency. Vladimir Chistyukhin, the number two at the Central Bank, explained that this comes with new, stricter KYC requirements for trading platforms. Essentially, they want to know exactly what’s happening with the movements of cryptocurrencies.

This measure will take effect in July, along with the entire regulatory framework they are implementing. It’s not surprising considering how the geopolitical situation is, but it shows that even in complicated markets, regulators are still looking for ways to integrate crypto assets into the formal financial system.

What’s interesting is that the approach is not prohibitive but declarative. They acknowledge that people are going to have crypto assets anyway, so instead of trying to combat it, what they do is ask you to report it. It’s a fairly pragmatic strategic shift in the world of crypto regulations.