Russia's Sberbank CEO admits he owns a small amount of Bitcoin

Following comments by Russian government officials regarding the upcoming ‘digital ruble’ project as “illegal,” the CEO of Sberbank has admitted to owning “a small amount of Bitcoin.”

German Gref, former Minister of Economic Development and Trade of the Russian Federation, made the comments at the Finnopolis 2015 fintech conference, noting that he himself was a victim of the volatility of digital currencies.

Greif said at the event:

"I am one of the victims. I have a small amount of Bitcoin... There is only one currency in the world that is depreciating faster than the ruble, and that is Bitcoin."

Not long ago, Russian Financial Inspector Pavel Medvedev also commented on digital currency. According to reports, Moscow payment company QIWI plans to launch a virtual currency similar to Bitcoin, but Medvedev believes that this virtual digitization of the ruble is essentially illegal.

Medvedev noted that according to the Russian Constitution, the Central Bank of Russia is the only entity allowed to issue currency in Russia.

It is reported that Gref has held several important positions during his tenure in public office. Prior to this, he was the First Deputy Minister of the Ministry of State Property of the Russian Federation.

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