Russia’s social media guru VKontakte (VK) hints launching own cryptocurrency

Just weeks after Facebooks announced plans to release its own digital asset that will be used to make transfers across its social media platforms, Russia’s leading social media platform VKontakte otherwise referred to as ‘VK’ is reported to be working on its own cryptocurrency.

A report that was published by RNS, a news outlet in Russia indicates that VK is currently in the development phase of the cryptocurrency. The crypto asset could be used to reward users for spending time on the platform alongside other activities. The users on the social media platform are likely to start getting rewarded for quality content provided or by curating content belong to other users.

The earned coins are eligible for transfer to other users and in turn get goods and services in addition to crypto to fiat conversions made possible by VK Pay, a recently launched payment service system.

While this is happening, Russia continues to have a love-hate relationship with cryptocurrencies. It is essential to note that the country is host to some of the leading blockchain startups like Waves, however, most authorities still identify with the crypto-non-friendly side. Not long ago a court in Russian rule made a ruled that blocked various crypto exchanges in the country as outlined that Bitcoin was no longer going to be used as a currency surrogate because it contributes to the growth of the shadow economy.

On the bright side, the President of Russia Vladimir Putin recently directed that the government work to adopt laws that improve the digital economy in Russian by July 1, 2019.