Russia’s colorful history with cryptocurrencies and the blockchain has continued into the new year as the country’s finance ministry is reported to be exploring ways to create a “Cryptoruble” that could help it circumvent western sanctions.

News that Russia may first be considering establishing a rival to bitcoin surfaced in November when it was reported that the Russian Communication Ministry had submitted a document to the government detailing how the country may adopt cryptocurrencies. At the time, the Russian news agency TASS suggested that it meant that the proposal was the groundwork for a Russian-issued cryptocurrency, which now indeed appears to have been the case.

According to the Financial Times, President Vladimir Putin (pictured, center) has given the green light to work on the establishment of the Cryptoruble. The report goes on to claim that economic adviser Sergei Glazev has told a government meeting that the Cryptoruble would be a useful tool to get around international sanctions because it would allow the government to “settle accounts with our counterparties all over the world with no regard for sanctions.” The Cryptoruble would have the same value as the ruble itself, but with restricted circulation.

Given Russia’s off-and-on support of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, a state-sponsored cryptocurrency may make some sense. It’s difficult to keep track of where Russia sits on any given day or week on cryptocurrencies. Going back years, the country has shifted from allowing bitcoin to saying they were banning bitcoin.

In the last three months alone, it has gone from claiming it will never be legal to saying it would regulate bitcoin instead. The first sign of real detente came in April when Russian Deputy Finance Minister Aleksey Moiseev floated cryptocurrency regulation as a way for the state to crack down on money laundering and illegal transfers.

Photo: The Kremlin