His comments follow a recent flurry of discussion on cryptocurrencies from top figures in the business world. IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde told CNBC on Thursday that there could be “massive disruptions” from digital currencies.
JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon recently called bitcoin a “fraud.” At an Institute of International Finance conference Friday he added: “If you’re stupid enough to buy it, you’ll pay the price for it one day.”
At the same meeting BlackRock CEO Larry Fink also took a shot at bitcoin, calling it an “index of money laundering.”
Siluanov said Russia was analyzing the experience of other countries, including the U.S., Europe and Japan.
“As a matter of fact, in America cryptocurrencies are also subject to regulation, including regulation as a stock commodity. Therefore, we believe that just closing our eyes and not looking at what is going on is not the right thing to do,” he told CNBC.
“And I agree that cryptocurrencies in part finance the shadow sector, which, of course, is a worry for the state. And in this regard, the question of knowing who the agents are, the question of registration of mining companies and those companies that emit cryptocurrencies should undoubtedly be under the control of the state,” he said, speaking directly on the comments made by Fink and Dimon.
