Russian news outlet, Argumenty i Fakty (Arguments and Facts or AIF), published details of historic proportions over the weekend. Russia is going to mint a national cryptocurrency as quickly as it can.
During a meeting of the Moscow Capital Club, Nikolai Nikiforov, Russia’s minister of communications and mass media, said that President Vladimir Putin had decided that Russia will issue a national cryptocurrency called the “cryptoruble” or “cryptor.” Per a translation of AIF, Nikiforov said, “I so confidently declare that we will launch a cryptor for one simple reason: if we do not, then in two months our neighbors in the Eurasian Economic Community will do it.”
Minister Nikiforov further explained that the cryptoruble should not be seen as a de facto legalization of cryptocurrencies that are governed purely by protocol, like Ether or bitcoin. According to AIF, Nikiforov also emphasized that the cryptor will not be mineable and will probably utilize a closed model for regulating a certain volume of issuance. Notably, Nikiforov stated that Russia’s cryptocurrency should use Russian cryptography to secure it.
One potential use case for the new Russian cryptocurrency could be to streamline payments of personal income tax, which AIF’s coverage seems to be extensively focused on, though Nikiforov stated that further discussion would still be needed to iron out details of any implementation.
In the next days and weeks, ETHNews will be watching for corroborative statements from other Russian institutions and officials. Russia previously revealed that its central bank was developing a national cryptocurrency and that it would not recognize others like bitcoin as legal tender. Though the recent news from AIF is a bit unclear, due to the private nature of the Moscow Capital Club, interested parties around the world will surely pour over past governmental statements about cryptocurrency for further clarity.
