The Russian State Duma (the lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia) plans to revise and adopt a new regulation on cryptocurrency in March. Former Energy Minister Igor Yusufov also offers oil-based cryptography, Russian financial agency Rambler 21 reported February.
In addition, Rambler reports that the head of the investment-oriented corporation Energia, former Energy Minister Igor Yusufov, also has real prospects for offering an oil-based cryptocurrency. Reportedly, the development of the project roadmap is almost at the final stage.
In an interview with Rambler, Yusufov reportedly said that the implementation of a crypto-settlement system in the energy market can help avoid the costs associated with using unsecured currencies and fluctuations in their exchange rates. He also cites savings on currency exchange commissions and trade restrictions as other examples of the benefits that the proposed system can bring.
The article also stresses that the member countries of the informal Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC +), including Russia, will benefit most from such a system. The reason is that the cryptocurrency platform will allow them to bypass financial and trade restrictions.
In addition, Yusufov also cites an explanation that the blockchain will also be used to track and test each barrel of oil along the entire chain, at no additional cost. The former head of the Federal Securities Commission of Russia, Igor Kostikov, reportedly commented on this idea, suggesting that not only oil and gas can be connected to it, but also any exchange resource. He concluded:
"Perhaps a cryptocurrency supported by oil will be an innovative project that will create a reliable structure for the cryptographic market as a whole."
The idea of an oil-supported cryptocurrency state is very similar to Petro, a petroleum-based cryptocurrency, first announced by Venezuelan President Nicola Maduro in 2017 and launched last February. However, an oil-supported coin has not yet been realized.
As reported by the Cointelegraph in late January, the chairman of the upper chamber of the Russian parliament called on parliamentarians to speed up work on bills on the digital economy, which include a project on cryptographic regulation.