CEO of major cryptocurrency exchange Binance, Changpeng Zhao, or ‘CZ’ as he’s more commonly known, has said he considers Russian President Vladimir Putin to be the most influential person in blockchain.

Putin and Buterin the most influential?

According to RBC News, at a recent meeting in Moscow CZ said that, with Russia looking likely to adopt a bill on the regulation of digital money, Putin was effectively the most powerful person in the blockchain industry right now.

Additionally, Zhao said that he thinks Vitalik Buterin, one of the original authors of Ethereum, will prove influential in the blockchain world if there’s a successful launch of Ethereum 2.0.

Regarding Binance, which will be adding support for the Russian ruble in a couple of weeks, CZ said he thinks the exchange is the next Amazon or Facebook and confirmed it has plans to issue debit cards.

Cracking down on crime

He also revealed that, despite Binance not ordinarily providing user information to authorities, the company would do so in specific circumstances where crime was involved, warning criminals to stay away from the platform.

Just a few weeks ago, AYO.NEWS reported that the platform had partnered with reg tech company Coinfirm in an effort to address the rules the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) recently issued regarding anti-money laundering (AML) – read more.

Wrapping up, Zhao said he still had confidence Bitcoin (BTC) would recover before the end of this year, and shared a tale to illustrate his confidence in the currency. Apparently, in 2014, CZ sold his house to buy more Bitcoin (BTC), and almost immediately the price crashed from $600 to $200. However, he held, and still has that BTC, which is now worth over $8,000!

AYO.NEWS says:

Is CZ serious, or was he just saying this because he was in Moscow at the time? Heck, is the Russian media report even accurate? Still, its an interesting thing to ponder. Putin, with his effective total control of Russia, does have the ability to turn the country into one of the most significant players in the global blockchain and cryptosphere.

AYO.NEWS says features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited.