Putin’s Advisor: ‘Time to Ban Bans’
Speaking to news resource Znak, Boris Titov, who also leads the rival, supposedly Kremlin-allied Party of Growth, advocated Bitcoin’s underlying blockchain technology as Russia’s gateway to reaching the world.
He said:
If today we were to attract the principal technologies and investors in Blockchain and cryptocurrency, we would have the geographical and human resources to reach the advanced countries of the world not only in these areas, but completely.
Titov has often suggested alterations to federal policy in the business and economic spheres in his capacity as Putin’s advisor. Both these and his activities as leader of the Party of Growth often run in contrast to members of Putin’s own party.
On the subject of cryptocurrency, Putin’s advisor German Klimenko recently went on record describing Bitcoin’s legality in other countries as “fiction,” stating it was a “meme virus” which has “infected the mind.”
Titov meanwhile is appealing principally to entrepreneurs with his ideas, a section of Russian society particularly exposed to changes in economic policy.
At the same time, while not officially illegal in Russia, cryptocurrency has been singled out as an area in which activity of Russian citizens could trigger criminal proceedings. In discussing the possibility of a state-sponsored alternative to Bitcoin, Deputy Director of the Federal Monitoring Service Pavel Livadny recently said that Bitcoin and other currencies would be banned were this to go ahead.
“We consider it is time to ban bans,” Titov said. “That is to say every law limiting human rights in some way should be assessed by public organizations.”
‘As Important as Internet’
All players nonetheless appear to recognize the importance of blockchain technology and agree that it cannot be left untouched. “[The Blockchain] is no less important than the creation of the internet,” Titov added.
Neighboring Kazakhstan meanwhile has opted for a less polarized handling of the increasing presence of cryptocurrencies and Blockchain technology on the market. Its Central Bank is actively monitoring developments in the space, with the country’s financial regulator seeking ways to set up legislation around the market without naming any specific bans.
“This is the reality which we will face in the near future, and to ignore it is impossible,” head of the financial regulator Daniyar Akishev said last week. “…Accordingly, any adjustments of our plans for the development of the financial sector may also be based on these findings.”