The chairman of the Russian State Duma Committee on Financial Markets insisted that Russia has to adopt new laws to protect retail investors from possible losses that might arise from investing in cryptocurrency. Local news agency Interfax reported on October 6 that the Bank of Russia also wants to slow down transactions to cryptocurrency exchanges to avoid “emotional” crypto purchases.
To that end, legislators in the nation’s parliament are allegedly considering new laws to limit crypto investments by all non-accredited investors. The top official delivered his remarks in a Bank of Russia-backed event which is devoted to financial consumer protection. Aksakov said:
“Digital currencies are subject to our enhanced focus, and we will look to provide maximum protection for our citizens who invest in digital assets because it is a new instrument, and it is quite difficult for an unskilled investor.”
Crypto investment is linked to a lot of risk and promising returns, with global investors putting billions of dollars into cryptocurrency. Aksakov added:
“We certainly need to provide specific legislation to protect a non-professional investor from ill-considered investments in digital currencies.”
This news comes in line with the Bank of Russia’s new plans to slow down the transactions to cryptocurrency exchanges to protect the retail investors from ‘emotional’ purchases of cryptocurrency. The first deputy governor at the Bank of Russia, Sergey Shvetsov, insisted that this measure would protect Russians from losses in the case where the crypto market “crashes to zero.”
Cryptos like Bitcoin have become a popular investment tool in Russia. Based on an August survey by Russia’s Association of Forex Dealers, up to 77% of Russian investors stated that cryptos are the ‘most forward-looking’ investment.