As per sources, Russia’s lower house of the Federal Assembly, otherwise known as the State Duma, is planning to review and adopt a law related to crypto currency’s legal status in March.
Oleg Nikolaev, a member of the Economic Policy Committee at the State Duma, says that the process is on the final stage and that, once approved; it would provide grounds for further development of blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies.
As per Russia’s former Energy Minister, Igor Yusufov, the proposed project by the head of Energia Corporation for creating an oil-backed cryptocurrency will be the one with high emphasis.
According to the former minister, the roadmap for this project is nearing its final stage.
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Yusufov holds that a cryptocurrency of the kind would help Russia along with its allies to avoid costs associated with the unpredictability in the exchange rate of the US dollar, trade restrictions, currency exchange commissions, and more.
The ex-minister also thinks that there are two options in regard to the cryptocurrency’s physical peg – it could either be tied to a ton of conditional fuel or to the value of conditional CO2 emissions. As per him, a cryptocurrency of the kind would facilitate traceability, verifying the origin of each barrel of oil without any additional costs.
Following Venezuela-
Russia’s reported plan seems very similar to Venezuela’s Petro. The Petro is a cryptocurrency, supposedly tied to Venezuela’s mineral resources, with the primary emphasis on oil. The Petro was launched in October 2018and it too was means of bypassing international trade sanctions.
Venezuela’s President – Nicolas Maduro, even went so far as to deliberately increase its exchange rates in the country’s fiat currency – the sovereign bolivar (VES), multiple times in the last few months.
But, it should be noted that even Russia has denied accepting Petro payments, saying that they’re “not happening.”
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It’s worth noting, though, that Russia’s Head of the Federal Securities Commission – Igor Kostikov, has stated that not only an oil cryptocurrency can be created, but generally any resource which is exchangeable can be the base for a cryptocurrency.
