Russia may launch the “cryptoruble” as a blockchain equivalent of its fiat currency in as little as “within two or three years”, a senior Russian politician has said.

Speaking to Russian media outlet RIA Novosti, Anatoly Aksakow, chairman of Russia’s State Duma committee on financial markets, confirmed that cryptoruble will not “differ in any way from the fiat ruble, except that it will exist on the blockchain”.

Aksakov has wanted to legally define cryptocurrencies in Russia since assuming the chair in 2017.

Bitcoinist reported Aksakov as saying, however, that multiple use cases should be available to help promote a cryptoruble debut in the market.

“The more widely blockchain is used in our financial operations – and not just financial but economic ones as well – the more likely it is the cryptoruble will appear,” he added.

Bitcoinist noted that there are rumours Russia wants to circumvent US sanctions by planning to actively invest in the crypto market.

Although a cryptoruble has long been discussed in Russia, Bitcoinist also noted that crypto regulation is still “in limbo” – laws originally accepted by the Duma last year failed to pass Russia’s central bank.