Russian President says Cryptocurrency May Become A “Means of Savings” at Some Point

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that cryptocurrency can become a settlement unit though it is very unstable and still too early to use for energy.

These positive comments for digital currencies were given by Putin in an interview with CNBC that was posted on the Kremlin’s website Thursday.

Cryptocurrency “has the right to exist and can be used as a means of payment,” said Putin. But he did say that it was too soon to use crypto assets for trading oil and other commodities that make up the bulk of Russia’s exports.

“It’s too early to talk about this issue. Of course, cryptocurrency can become a settlement unit, but it is very unstable. It is possible to transfer funds from one place to another. But I think it’s too early for transactions, especially energy transactions, to use cryptocurrency for settlement.”

Russia, on which the US has imposed sanctions since 2014, has sought alternatives to trading in USD and has accelerated the de-dollarization plans with gold and has also set up an alternative SWIFT System to connect with other countries.

As we reported, Deputy Finance Minister Alexei Moiseev said this week that the country has no plans to ban crypto in countries like China.

Meanwhile, the central bank, the Bank of Russia, continues to issue warnings to investors about the crypto market being volatile and digital currencies not allowed to be used as a method of payment domestically. Putin meanwhile emphasized that they will

“pay attention to the development trend of cryptocurrency, which may also become a means of savings at some point. We have seen how the market fluctuates, and it is still early.”