New Russian law bans crypto payments for goods and services

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a bill Friday banning the use of digital assets, such as cryptocurrencies, to pay for goods and services.

Digital payment can be seen as a replacement for monetary exchanges according to the new law. There are exceptions in the final clause of the law.

The law in Russia makes it clear that no vendor in the country will take your money in exchange for food. It has been speculated that the country is cracking down on businesses that may use cryptocurrencies to skirt sanctions imposed on Russia. According to a New York Times article from February 23, shortly after the invasion began,cryptocurrencies were being used to circumvent control points that governments rely on to block deal execution, as sanctions began to take hold.

There are differing opinions within the government on whether to regulate or ban the digital currency. The government's disagreement over what to do with cryptocurrencies was reported in January. The Ministry of Finance disagreed with the stance taken by the Central Bank of Russia that there should be a ban on cryptocurrencies.

The new law in Russia will take effect on July 25 and it's not clear what the future holds for cryptocurrencies.