Russian deputy finance minister Alexey Moiseev on Thursday described cryptocurrency as "generally evil," and that people who invest in it are taking a big risk, but can be used in certain cases. 
 
Moiseev told a banking conference that "surely, crypto is, as a whole, evil, I think that people who invest their savings in it, take too big a chance... However, there can be certain situations when crypto can be used." 

The official explained that cryptocurrency is used in foreign trade, with a draft law addressing this area that's being revised by the Russian State Duma's committee on financial markets.

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The deputy minister said that "We will conduct an experiment... If the law is adopted, some committee will be formed consisting of representatives from several ministries, the Bank of Russia, and law enforcement, who will give permissions to certain operators to use this cryptocurrency in foreign trade."
 
He added that the process of constructing the legislative framework for this experiment might take until the end of the year.
 
It is worth noting that cryptocurrencies in Russia are not officially accepted as a form of payment, but Elvira Nabiullina, the Russian central bank's governor, said earlier that in April, the Bank of Russia considered the use of digital coins to complete financial transactions with trusted partners.

#Russia and #Iran could soon be expanding their cooperation into the cryptocurrency sector with a gold-backed #crypto project. pic.twitter.com/HCV7ckgG5x

— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) January 20, 2023

On another note, Bitcoin (BTC) passed the $30,000 mark for the first time this month since June 10, 2022, despite the collapse of major crypto-focused banks.

By market capitalization, the largest cryptocurrency was recently up 6.75% in price, selling at $30,237.

On his account, Richard Mico, the US CEO and Chief Legal Officer of Banxa, a payment-and-compliance infrastructure provider for crypto, said that “it’s clear that the market is pricing a slowdown in growth, and in turn a loosening of monetary policy by the Federal Reserve over the course of 2023." 

"For evidence of this, just look at the bond market," Mico added.

On June 10, 2022, Bitcoin reached a high of $30,000 before falling to a low of around $20,000, where it stayed for a significant portion of the rest of the year and the first few weeks of 2023.