Russian officials who want to create a path forward for cryptocurrency are critical of current models that seem to constrain the use of Bitcoin and other blockchain assets.
Russian Deputy Minister of Energy Evgeny Grabchak, as quoted by David Attlee at Cointelegraph, talks about a “legal vacuum” in advocating for a kind of state’s rights on crypto.
“The legal vacuum makes it difficult to regulate this area and set clear rules of the game,” Grabchak said, as quoted. “This legal vacuum needs to be [eliminated] as soon as possible. If we want somehow to get along with this activity, and we have no other options in the current reality, we must introduce legal regulation, adding the concept of mining to the regulatory framework”.
But Russia has bigger problems in expansionist policy that has led to a global diplomatic conflagration, and it seems that along with Russia’s inability to really explain its aggression to the world, Ukraine is getting capital along with empathy from global allies and others.
“Since Feb. 26, when Ukrainian officials began tweeting calls for cryptocurrency donations, the Ukrainian government says it has taken in more than $60 million of its $200 million goal as of Wednesday,” writes Thalia Beatty. “The funds raised in cryptocurrency are a just small part of the overall donations that Ukraine has received. After raising as much as $12 million on March 2, cryptocurrency donations have tapered off although boosters say the unexpected initial surge may inspire other efforts to solicit cryptocurrencies for humanitarian or defensive purposes. Officials have said that the speed with which they can use cryptocurrency donations has made them useful.”
Russia, for its part, is trying to tie Bitcoin to oil and gas to consolidate its power as a producer and global supplier. That, plus the nation’s ties to China, seem to be insulating it from some of the pressures that would otherwise accrue. Watch for changes as the conflict in Ukraine continues.
