Russia declares crypto-war, forcing cryptocurrency values to plummet

<p>As the market responds to reports that Russia is pursuing a ban on cryptocurrency trading and mining, key cryptocurrencies have suffered losses of more than 20% in a week.</p> <p>In less than five days, the value of one Bitcoin fell from $US43,293.80 to $US33,629.50, a 22% reduction, after the Central Bank of Russia recommended a wide ban on cryptocurrencies, which it compared to a pyramid scheme based on energy-intensive crypto mining activities.</p> <p>The volatility of cryptocurrencies poses risks that are "much higher for emerging markets, including Russia," according to the bank, which recommends that financial institutions be barred from using cryptocurrencies for any transactions and that the exchange of crypto for fiat currencies be prohibited.</p> <p>Individuals would not be prohibited from having cryptocurrencies, according to sources, which stated that Russians presently trade roughly $7 billion ($5 billion) in digital assets.</p> <p>Crypto exchanges, on the other hand, would be prohibited from functioning within the country, and the Central Bank of Russia would collaborate with regulators in other countries to monitor Russian individuals' crypto transactions.</p> <p>Governments are increasingly interested in monitoring bitcoin in order to eliminate the anonymity that has allowed cryptocurrency to become the de facto money of the cybercriminal underground.</p> <p>Since 2019, the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has used data matching to track down cryptocurrency transactions.</p> <p>Whatever its promise to deter criminals, the planned ban sparked criticism from Russian tech titans such as Telegram founder Pavel Durov, who highlighted that "no developed country bans cryptocurrencies" and that "such a prohibition will surely slow down the development of blockchain technology in general."</p> <p>"These technologies improve the efficiency and safety of many human activities," he continued, noting that Russia is "one of the leaders in terms of the number of highly qualified specialists in the blo