The Central Bank of Russia considered the ICO "huge potential"

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According to the TASS public news service, First Deputy Chairman of the Bank of Russia Sergey Shvetsov said that the central bank would "support the development" of the blockchain financing model. It is a notable development, considering that the Bank of Russia, which is not a financial regulator in the country, had published an investor warning about cryptocurrencies and ICOs back in September.

The fact that this assistance will entail is yet to be clarified. However, in the subsequent comments, Shvetsov suggested that the case of using the blockchain could be regarded as a legitimate financial activity within Russia. He hopes that the ICO will take a worthy place in the Russian financial market.

Shvetsov's comments come a few weeks after Russian President Vladimir Putin issued several official orders related to cryptocurrencies, including one that provided for the creation of new rules around the ICOs. It is currently unclear whether this work will be consistent with the subsequent steps from the Russian central bank.