It has to be said, despite being known as a breeding ground for some incredible talent in the field of information technology, Russia is a country that has been somewhat the quiet underdog as far as cryptocurrency is concerned, rarely making headlines in the crypto press. Without digging deeper, it would be hard for most speculators to actually state whether the Russian government holds a pro-crypto or anti-crypto viewpoint. Unlike Britain, the USA and India to name but a few, it isn’t prone to making sweeping, often ill-informed statements based on the limited understanding of lawmakers with a vested interest.

This week, however, there is plenty of chatter about Russia, fuelled by rumours that Mr. Putin himself has a serious interest in cryptocurrency – he is even reported to have met fellow Russian Vitalik Buterin, founder of Ethereum to discuss strategies for the adoption and management of digital currencies.Couple this with suggestions that as much as 8% of Russia’s GDP is already cryptocurrency, and the likelihood of mainstream adoption as a reserve currency is not such a fantasy – and it would be the ideal way for the secretive state to un-tether itself from the US dollar, which would play into their hands perfectly, especially given the increasing hostility Russia is facing from the US administration. Even if it is driven entirely by self-interest, such a move could be a gamechanger for the cryptoeconomy on a worldwide basis – and the implications are enormous.

Watch this space!