Russia to issue official cryptcurrency, the CryptoRuble

Russia will issue its own official cryptocurrency, the CryptoRuble, capping months of speculation about the country’s approach to the technology.

While in a way it indicates an embrace of the likes of Bitcoin and Ethereum, the CryptoRuble is unlikely to share the truly decentralized nature of other coins.

Reports this summer suggested the country was looking into creating its own cryptocurrency, though the administration has also taken a hard line on other coins, calling them illegitimate replacements for the official currency.

Details are scarce, but according to the reports, the CryptoRuble cannot be mined, but will be issued and tracked by the government like ordinary currency. That does away with one of the primary draws of cryptocurrencies, of course: some would say that the entire point of something like Bitcoin is to free commerce from the fetters of government-run fiat currencies.

The CryptoRuble does appear to be blockchain-based, however, which gives it at least a veneer of decentralization and could help prevent things like online fraud.

UCJ, UNILORIN.