There was a lot of apprehension about the future of bitcoin in Russian Federation. Until recently, it was believed that bitcoin and other digital currencies have been banned in the country. The bitcoin community saw a glimmer of hope when the Central Bank of Russia called upon the experts in bitcoin to discuss about its potential uses in Russia.
The President of Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin has now spoken about bitcoin and digital currencies for the very first time. While participating in an educational forum broadcast, Vladimir Putin as indicated that the country’s Central Bank has been dealing with digital currencies in a responsible and mature way. The Bank of Russia has been looking closely into digital currency and the technology behind it with an open mind and it has not rejected it outright as some people continue to believe.
Putin’s comments were made on the educational show aired by Russia 24 — a Russian domestic television network. It was later covered by other local media agencies like RIA, Gazeta and TASS. While he was a bit sceptical about the adoption of digital currency as an alternate currency, Putin however suggested that the technology behind digital currencies can be used for managing transactions of fiat currency in the backend.
He said that bitcoin can’t be considered as money as it is not linked to anything or backed by anything, unlike fiat currencies where it is backed by Even though Putin mentioned bitcoin by name while talking about digital currency, the presidential spokesperson later clarified that the president used bitcoin as a generic term for digital currencies and not bitcoin in specific.
The President’s statement has been considered as a big step towards legality of bitcoin in the country. Even though there are no concrete bitcoin regulations out, it is at least not considered illegal anymore.
READ MORE: Central Bank of Russia Invites Experts to Discuss Bitcoin