Moscow Stock Exchange head: Bitcoin akin to electronic gold

Alexander Afanasiev, head of the Moscow Stock Exchange, let the journalists know what he thinks on Bitcoin. He does not consider it a pyramid scheme, like some Russian officials do, but instead, points out the uncertainty of how to classify Bitcoin, in which category it falls and gives his personal opinion:

“Nobody knows how to term cryptocurrency yet. Is it a derivative, security, asset, intellectual property? To me, it seems more like electronic gold. A few centuries ago, gold was used as a means of payment — this was a social contract. Now the social contract on Bitcoin has few participants, but this social contract has somewhat been already concluded.”

He also told that cryptocurrency is mined apart from getting acquired through trading or inheritance.

This position, together with the opinion of the Russian presidential adviser and FinMin’s view on what backs cryptocurrency (see the end of the article) are three most adequate opinions on cryptocurrency we have seen from the Russian authorities and top managers by far.