One June 3, 2017, Russian President Vladimir Putin had a chance meeting with Ethereum creator Vitalik Buterin at the International Economic Forum in St. Petersburg.
No doubt Buterin made a compelling case for the development of digital currencies in Russia just as he had previously hosted former Fortress Investment Group principal Michael Novogratz. After meeting Buterin, Novogratz became so convinced of the future of digital currencies, he invested 10% of his assets into Bitcoin and Ethereum at a time when it was trading at around USD1.
Ethereum now trades for USD300.
It also probably didn’t hurt to hear about these significant technological changes from a fellow Russian.
Russia had previously banned digital currencies. Perhaps to diversify away from an oil based economy or to help avoid the impact of Western sanctions, Russia is now focusing on becoming a global leader in digital currencies.
Now, Russia aims to take one-third of the world’s mining network from previous leader China.
I’ve had these discussions over and over with acquaintances in my life as I play my own part to divulge the research I’ve gained.
Most of the time, people still feel that this is too new and have a hard time grasping the gravity of this new technology.
Underneath this uncertainty though is a curiousity to learn more about digital currencies and what it all means for the future.
Just like Buterin had a hand in opening up Putin’s perceptions of digital currencies, each one of us has a role in helping to spread awareness and help others to adapt to the immense changes to the global monetary system.
Hope we can have just as much success as Buterin had with Putin!