Bitcoin Forum

A recently-announced Russian presidential candidate, Boris Titov, is a bitcoin advocate. He promises to legalize bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies if elected. Titov is friends with President Vladimir Putin and heads up his efforts to fight corruption. He has also repeatedly advocated for the legalization of bitcoin in Russia, suggesting the country should follow Japan’s lead.

Bitcoin Advocate Running for President of Russia

Presidential Commissioner for Entrepreneurs’ Rights and business ombudsman Boris Titov is running for Russian president in the 2018 election. The 56-year old is representing the business-oriented Party of Growth, the party announced this week.

“Titov is part of the Kremlin establishment and friends with president Vladimir Putin,” the Moscow Times described, adding that “he is also an economic liberal and heads up the president’s efforts to fight corruption.”

He told publication Mail.ru that “We will legalize bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies in Russia” and further elaborated:

Popular cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin and ethereum, will be legalized. People will have the opportunity to store them in banks and crypto exchanges and use as a means of payment, however, only for external transactions.

Titov explained, “in the domestic Russian market, say, for a sandwich, you cannot pay [with] cryptocurrency.” He added that “it is necessary to change the Russian economy. There is a need for change in society,” noting that “we are talking about the digital economy – development of the blockchain, cryptocurrencies, and IT-sphere.”

https://news.bitcoin.com/russian-presidential-candidate-legalize-bitcoin-cryptocurrencies-russia/

I might soon be heading to Russia in time for its next election and I will be selecting Mr. Boris Titov as my president. I am aware that under the Russian political structure, the President is more of a figure without so much power but then he can have some influence and that can already help if he would be elected and will really push for the recognition of Bitcoin in Russia. That move can help make Russia as the next hub for Bitcoin and cryptocurrency as right now there are already many fintech companies planning to relocate out of China. Russia must be friendly to these companies so they would come to the county and invest money leading to creation of some jobs and inflows of foreign exchange which the country needs.

I am sure that Titov is very much aware of the kind of potential that cryptocurrency can be holding for the country as he is referring to Japan as the model. We all know how Japan embraced Bitcoin and is now reaping the fruits that they deserve as one of the leading countries where Bitcoin is freely traded. Russia should never be afraid of Bitcoin because the government has all the sovereign power to introduce regulations making the field fairer and more transparent and in extraordinary times of extreme crisis the country can invoke national security and interest to do drastic moves (like stopping Bitcoin exchange until things subside).

Another circus "Shapito" in the process of "re-election" of President Putin