Russia Not Ready for Circulation of Cryptocurrencies, says Government Expert

Russia is one of those few nations that can have a significant impact on mass adoption or rejection of cryptocurrency. The series of the event in the country has had a roller coaster ride on the future of crypto in the country. Russia is the home of Ethereum’s CEO, the second most successful cryptocurrency in the world after bitcoin, Vitalik Buterin. Bitfury, which is the world’s largest Bitcoin miner was generated by Valery Vavilov, a Russian.

Cryptocurrencies have always been famous in Russia, but for years Russia and its government, in particular, have had a unique love-hate relationship with Blockchains, Bitcoins, and Cryptocurrencies in general.

On September 10th as reported by the local news agency RIA, an exclusive representative of the Russian president, Dmitry Peskov, said that the country is not ready for the circulation and issuance of cryptocurrencies. He further explained his views on the state of the digital asset on digital and technological development with local news agency RIA:

“From the start, we have not legally suppressed blockchain and cryptocurrencies, and are trying to bring them into a normative space. But the government must give fair warning, that there is a high risk of ending up with an MMM 2.0 [Famous pyramid scheme that existed in the 1990s].”

Peskov reveals that the official position of the central bank was too soft “The threat level is so high that the position could be stringent.” Furthermore, Peskov showed that the issuance of cryptocurrencies is irreconcilable to basic state principals:

“The issuance and circulation of cryptocurrencies cannot yet be permitted. It contradicts the basic functions of government. Order is important. If we adopt a bill on the principles of working with cryptocurrencies on the government level, then we can discuss the implementation of those principles in daily life. But it’s not right to do this in reverse.”

Russian president Vladimir Putin on his annual live question and answer session, held at the start of this year, on the crypto question stated that Russia cannot have its own cryptocurrency, as cryptocurrency “by definition” is decentralized meaning it cannot be controlled by a centralized entity. He also remarked that since the crypto mining is not regulated, it needs “to be treated carefully”.