Marc Serafino
The unrecognized breakaway republic of Abkhazia, formerly part of Soviet Georgia, is looking to issue its own cryptocurrency with the idea to “abandon normal money in several years.”
With the help of Blockchain and continuing support from Russia, the country’s economy minister Adgur Ardzinba recently confirmed the plans at a conference in Moscow.
Abkhazia, which relies heavily on Russian funding, is looking to launch the Abkhazian Republic Coin — which will be marked as ARC — to aid investment, and offer transparent municipal financial operations. The idea, in case you wonder, comes with a price tag of around $1 billion.
“This is a serious project which can completely change [local] industry,” the conference organizer Evgeniy Galiakhmetov told the audience. “You really will be able to participate in the growth of the country. Build infrastructure projects, accept and pay for products and services with the help of cryptocurrency.”
Not the first Russia-backed state looking at cryptocurrencies
Before Abkhazia unveiled its crypto-plans, another unrecognized and Russia-sponsored state was looking to enter the cryptocurrency market.
It was Transnistria, a breakaway segment of Moldova, which has different plans — it wants to capitalize on cheap electricity costs and join the Bitcoin mining race.
Laws for this endeavor are “already in place” to facilitate wholesale cryptocurrency creation, according to Russian news outlet Lenta.
“The Transnistrian government is already talking about how they are fourth in Europe in terms of internet speed and penetration, they have very cheap electricity and this is one of the key factors supporting the creation of a mining farm,” the founder of major export conglomerate Russkiy Eksport Igor Chayka told the publication.
With population of around half a million, Transnistria sits between Moldova and Ukraine, with electricity costs of around $0.03 per kilowatt hour.
Also joining this “race” are breakaway authorities in Eastern Ukraine who are similarly aiming to utilize Blockchain at government level, to circumvent both bureaucracy and international pressure.
All being said, we have to ask — is crypt the “way to go” for all unrecognized states? At least those sponsored by Russia. What do you think?
