Bitcoin Price Forecast: Russia Finalizing Regulations by July, Bitcoin Future Looks Safe
Daily Bitcoin News Update
Another country is swiftly moving toward Bitcoin regulations. This time, it’s Russia. Yesterday, Russian President Vladimir Putin signaled the country’s regulators to get the cryptocurrency regulations in place, at the very latest by July 2018. Why does it matter? Because the regulations would define the future of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies in the country.
Putin set the ball rolling on crypto regulations last year, and the ball is now in the regulators’ court.
On one side, the Central Bank of Russia is of the view that cryptocurrencies pose investment risks and so should not be legalized for investing. On the other side, the Ministry of Finance wishes to regulate the market to deliver a safer trading environment to investors while allowing cryptocurrency exchanges to operate in the country.
For months, the disagreement between the Central Bank and the Ministry of Finance has delayed the regulatory process. The President has now given them a deadline to get their act together.
The final verdict on the matter would come on July 1, 2018. That’s when we’ll know for certain whether Bitcoin and altcoins stand a chance in Russia.
However, we speculate that the regulations would likely be in favor of Bitcoin. There’s one good reason why.
Russia likes to lead, not follow.
Given that the country has given birth to two of the most prominent crypto personalities, Russia’s importance in the crypto world cannot be underestimated.
Russian-born Vitalik Buterin (the guy who gave us the second most valuable cryptocurrency in the world, Ethereum) and Pavel Durov (who created messaging service “Telegram,” which became the biggest ICO in history) are held in high regard in the crypto world today.
The country will likely ensure that regulations don’t impede innovation, such that the country continues to produce more Buterins and Durovs. But at the same time, the regulations will be such that they guarantee the security of domestic crypto investors.
While it’s true that Russia currently contributes to a very small part of Bitcoin’s global trading volumes, once the country officially recognizes Bitcoin and begins to regulate its market, we expect Russia’s contribution to grow.
A legal, regulated market would bring in more buyers and sellers, which in turn would add more liquidity to BTC prices. Therefore, we’re giving due weight to this news.
Chart courtesy of TradingView.com
Analyst Take
We continue to reiterate that Bitcoin regulations are not a boogeyman to be scared of. They may, in fact, turn out to be a blessing for Bitcoin.
While we closely watch Russia’s next move on cryptocurrency regulations, we maintain our Bitcoin price forecast for 2018 with a BTC price target of $15,000.
