MOSCOW, August 27. /TASS/. Possible new Western sanctions could result in the formation of a "tainted" cryptocurrency market in Russia, one which would be "toxic" to international counterparties and trade at a discount to global prices, President and Chairman of the Management Board at Finam Group Vladislav Kochetkov said in an interview with TASS ahead of the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF).

"Sanctions could make it so that in Russia, the crypto market becomes ‘tainted’, that is, assets that have passed through addresses and platforms subject to restrictions and are therefore toxic to international counterparties. This very factor could indeed make the Russian market extremely appealing, trading at a significant discount to international benchmarks," he said.

This would not only carry with it the risk of being cut off from global liquidity, Kochetkov added. "This does not imply merely being cut off from liquidity, we're talking about the formation of a separate, isolated pricing circuit operating by its own rules," he concluded.