Russian banker might be planning to create cryptocurrency despite officials’ skepticism on the matter

Oleg Tinkov, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Tinkoff Bank, has voiced his intention to issue a new cryptocurrency, TinCoin. Posting a photo showing his luxurious lifestyle on Facebook, he signed it (translation from Russian): “I feel like we’re losing the technological leadership. Time to launch TinCoin, what do you think? We’re ready…” No more details followed since then, so this all might be just another joke from the banker known in Russia for his blunt statements about other banks (namely, Roketbank) and scandalous arguments with video bloggers.

Meanwhile, the ex-Minister of Finance, Alexei Kudrin, still considered influential among Russian governmental elite, told that cryptocurrency wouldn’t be legalized in Russia and Russians shouldn’t invest in altcoins due to high volatility and financial risks.

While Kudrin expresses skepticism, Dmitry Marinichev (Russian Internet ombudsman) holds and ICO and gets a considerable sum of $43.2 million dollars. Although it was not the target sum of a hundred million, this is still a record for Russian ICOs.