Cash to Crypto Trade Blooming in Moscow, Reports Say
Buying cryptocurrency in Russia these days has a different meaning with fast cash, it can be Russian ruble or US dollar. According to data quoted by the local media, the 24-hour market turnover, just in Moscow, reaches a staggering $ 50 million dollars in peak days. Some people say cash crypto business resembles the wild wild west road foreign currency of the 90's, while others claim that if it is not prohibited it is allowed.
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Multi-Million Cash Market for Crypto in the Capital
Last year's skyrocketing prices have increased in the popularity of cryptocurrencies across the world and Russia is no exception. 2017 attracted a lot of all-time high-level focus and investment in Moscow to create a multi-million dollar cryptocurrency market which is still blooming. A large part of this includes cash transactions and as there are no dedicated rules in the country yet, this kind of crypto business is neither legal nor illegal. According to the estimates cited by the local press, the daily crypto business in the capital alone is between $ 10 and $ 20 million, but it is sometimes at its peak in $ 50 million.
Currency exchange stores and a number of individual traders in Moscow are offering fast and anonymous purchases and sales of cryptocurrency with ruble and dollars. The investigation by major Russian business edition Vedomosti found that the situation looks like that of the infamous 90s when foreign exchange deals were closed right in the street. Now anyone can change the crypto without having to go to an office with a bag of cash to identify themselves or prove the origins of money. It's not only with Fiat's Fiat currency?
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According to Roman Zaguba, a representative of Britain-based Crypto Bank Wirex, most of these exchangers have to focus on peer-to-peer platforms like the Localbitcoins. Due to the lack of relevant laws, online trading platforms are also completely outside the legal domain. Draft legislation that voted on reading for the first time in May and should be adopted in July has been delayed. The texts of the initial three bills have been synchronized and before this state is reviewed again in Duma and hope that the new law adopted by the end of the year will be presented for public discussion in October on "Digital Financial Assets". Quoted by BFM, Zaguba said that legal documents include "Exchange operators" definitions and they believe that the period applies to cryptocurrency exchanges that will be allowed to trade digital coins with paper currency.
A Third of the Turnover Comes From Chinese Merchants
In his report, Vedomosti writes that cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin Corps (BTC) and ethereum (ETH) are currently popular with Russian traders, with the largest market capitalization. Exchanges with their circulation, fiat currencies and use in payment for goods and services are not allowed nor banned officially. At the same time, paper notes remain largely invisible for central bank, tax authority and customs service. According to Alexey Karpenko, the legal firm further legal on senior seniors, Russian citizens have the right to buy cryptocurrency as property. It can only be illegal if cash comes from the income received through criminal means. This kind of money laundering will be a crime, but the lawyer says that it is not to be taken with this cryptocurrency. "There is a common rule - if specific transactions have not been banned, then they are allowed. It is a matter of agreement between a buyer and a seller," explains Karpenko.
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As part of the investigation, Vedomosti journalist Alena Sukharevskaya visited the office of one of the companies offering exchange services on the market in Moscow International Trade Center, also known as Moscow City. Dennis Polohin, the founder of Berkcut Corporation, said the number of deals worth it, was increased by more than $ 100,000 in the last few years. About 50% of the deals are closed with investors who want to participate in the initial coin offerings (ICOS), 10% of its customers are traders and 10% are dealers. The headquarters of another Moscow city company, the International Cryptocurrency Center, which is partnering with Estonian firm Aridika Asset Management, said in the digital property business, it was between 10 and 15 customers every day.
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It has also been claimed in the publication that 30% of the business registered by the Moscow exchanges comes from traders operating in major wholesale markets of the city, such as Moscow, Sudovod and Food City. Earlier this year, Russian media reported that most of them are Chinese citizens who use cryptocurrency for cross border payment for goods imported from the People's Republic. Vedomoti has speculated that exchange shops earn daily $ 400,000 per day with the average commission of 1.5 - 2% on the top of bitfinax and bonus rates.