Over the past week or two, a story about Russia adding bitcoin to their foreign currency reserves has been reported in a variety of media outlets such as The Daily Telegraph, Fortune, and ZeroHedge. All of these stories cite Vladislav Ginko, who is an economics lecturer at the state-funded Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA).[1][2][3][4]
According to Ginko’s comments on Twitter and in interviews, he believes the Russian government will add $10 billion worth of bitcoin to its foreign currency reserves early this year. The move is said to be a reaction to sanctions imposed by the United States.
When this story was first reported, not many people paid attention or took it seriously, but things started to get interesting as more credible media outlets published articles around the story. Some people thought it was an elaborate hoax, while others have questioned Ginko’s credibility.
The Twitter Account Appears to Be Legitimate
In response to the likes of The Daily Telegraph reporting on this story, some skeptics shared their belief that the source of the news was a fake Twitter account that was not actually owned and operated by Ginko.[5]
Looking at the Twitter account’s history, it appears authentic. For example, there is this tweet from 2012 where the author claimed to be a finance professor who works in New York and Moscow. Additionally, Archive.org’s Wayback Machine shows Ginko was in control of the account in 2014, when he was associated with a Russian financial news outlet.[6][7][8]
Bitcoin to $100 or $2 Million?
To be fair to the skeptics, Ginko’s Twitter account is all over the place with bizarre claims being
