[NEWS] Russian parliament member asks finance minister to establish Bitcoin reserve

It has been revealed that Anton Tkachev, a member of the State Duma of Russia, has requested the establishment of a strategic Bitcoin (BTC) reserve to the Minister of Finance, Anton Siluanov. On the 9th, the Russian state news agency RIA Novosti reported.

According to the report, Tkachev sent a request to the Minister of Finance, asking him to "assess the feasibility of establishing a Bitcoin reserve." He also requested that if feasibility is found, the proposal be formally submitted to the Russian government as a bill.

In his request, Tkachev pointed out that due to rising geopolitical risks, the value of foreign currencies such as the renminbi, US dollar, and euro are prone to fluctuations, and there are issues such as sanctions and inflation, which pose a threat to the stability of national finances. He then argued that there is a need to introduce alternative means of storing reserves that are not dependent on each country.

He also said, "For countries under sanctions, with limited access to traditional international payment systems, crypto assets are effectively becoming the only means of international trade. The Russian Central Bank is already preparing to begin experiments with cross-border payments using crypto assets."

In Russia, President Putin recently stated, "No one can ban Bitcoin," suggesting growing interest in crypto assets.

Currently, there are moves to establish Bitcoin reserves in various countries.

At the end of last month, a bill to create a Bitcoin reserve was submitted in Brazil in South America. The bill states that 5% of Brazil's reserves will be allocated to Bitcoin. In addition, if the bill is passed, it will promote the adoption of blockchain by public institutions and private companies.

In addition, in the United States, President-elect Trump and others have proposed holding Bitcoin as a reserve. Republican Senator Cynthia Lummis has proposed that the U.S. government purchase Bitcoin periodically to hold 1 million BTC, which is expected to have a major impact on the cryptocurrency market if it is realized.

It seems that both of them believe that with the recent rise in geopolitical risks, they are in a situation where they are considering a means of storing value that is not dependent on a specific country, such as cryptocurrencies, rather than foreign currencies.

Reference: Report
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