Russia is adopting a different attitude towards cryptos than China. President Putin has come public saying
"Bitcoin has value but it cannot be used in the Oil trade" I guess Putin didn't still fully grasp the real potential of cryptos as he says
“Cryptocurrency is not supported by anything as of yet. It may exist as a means of payment, but I think it’s too early to say about the oil trade in cryptocurrency.”
But even so, it shows that Russia seems to be adopting a friendly position facing cryptocurrency and it may be having some impact on the industry. Given that China adopted a harsh position towards cryptos, is it possible that miners are relocating from China to Russia? Is it possible for Russia to step up to occupy the former place China had in Bitcoin? I guess this is what is happening, otherwise, Putin wouldn't come public with such a neutral position.
Putin's acknowledgement is a great accomplishment for bitcoin indeed. He says that it cannot be used for trading oil because the current FIAT monetary system is still intact. When it all goes down, bitcoin will be the king and Putin will have to re-think his options. As far as I know they still use USD for trading oil and USD's days are numbered.