Will Russia Create its National Cryptocurrency?

Interest to Russian national cryptocurrency would remain purely academic if it were not for a serious crisis with WebMoney payment system which happened in March this year and paralyzed mechanisms of transferring electronic money equivalents into actual cash. No wonder discussions about Russian cryptocurrency have gained new vigor and enthusiasm. In this context, it is interesting to remember the infamous proposal of Russian Ministry of Finance to send people to prison of the use of any cryptocurrency
The subject of virtual cryptocurrencies is not new for Russian financial market. For a long time Russian authorities have been trying to regulate, control and even prohibit the operation/circulation of virtual money. Above all, the Russian bureaucracy sees such payment systems as a convenient tool for money laundering or as a means of financing of illegal extremist groups or other undesirable elements. However, cryptocurrency has its opponents and advocates both among general public and among state authorities
Market Responses
Various members of financial market in Russia responded to this idea in a different ways. Russian banks are indifferent to it because they just don’t care about cryptocurrencies at all. They are far more excited and interested in blockchain technology – the basis of cryptocurrencies. They would love to use it. Implementation of blockchain technology would make the storage of any information in general much cheaper and money transfers will become cheaper. But do Russians need their own national cryptocurrency? There is no consensus among active owners of virtual wallets too. Yet numerous online stores and web-shops depend on them, as they are the most active online-shoppers. Entrepreneurs who also use virtual money for business settlements are concerned with such plans - it is clear that introduction of the Russian national cryptocurrency will inevitably smash the existing system. And nobody can predict where it can lead to.

We would like to remind that currently Bitcoin is the most popular cryptocurrency worldwide, with capitalization over three billion US dollars. The second best is litecoin (one hundred million US dollars). But in theory, anyone who wishes to do so is able to create a new cryptocurrency, not only mine existing ones. So, it is quite possible that Russia will join the ranks of cryptocurrency creators too