Russia’s number of crypto ATMs exceeds 50 devices

What’s new? In 2022, 14 new crypto ATMs were installed in Russia, and the total number of devices across the country amounted to 52 units. Experts at RusBit, a company for the installation of crypto ATMs, told Kommersant about the growing demand for this service, despite not the most favorable terms for exchanging crypto assets.

News on the Kommersant website

What else is known? RusBit noted that the installation of crypto ATMs is a legal procedure, citing the fact that cryptocurrencies are digital commodities under the law “On Digital Financial Assets.” All devices are connected to a cloud cash register of the fiscal data operator and transmit information to the Federal Taxation Service, customers undergo a know your customer (KYC) procedure before making transactions, and limits are set on the sum of transactions. RusBit estimates that up to 1000 new devices for the purchase and exchange of cryptocurrencies could be installed in Russia by next year.

Lawyers, however, have concerns about the legality of this type of operation. Ksenia Petrovets, the senior associate at Birch Legal, said that the current legislation does not provide for such a category as a “digital commodity.” “Operations to exchange digital currency for fiat money or other cryptocurrencies are in a gray area and are neither directly prohibited nor directly regulated yet,” Petrovets specifies in a comment to Kommersant. And according to a.t.Legal partner Pavel Ganin, there is no clear procedure for consumer protection in case of possible problems at the legislative level.

On October 3, the FBI warned that scammers began to use crypto ATMs more frequently in their schemes, in addition to wire transfers and prepaid cards.

Journalists from BeInCrypto reported that street currency speculators in Russia began exchanging USDT stablecoin for cash dollars. The seller of the exchange office in Sochi said that he calculates the exchange rate according to the indices of the Binance crypto exchange and hands over the cash when the funds arrive at his address.