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Russian Billionaire Potanin Says Tokens Can Displace Crypto

  • Potanin backs Russia’s first digital financial assets operator
  • He wants to offer tokens for Arctic homes and Hermitage NFTs
Vladimir Potanin

Vladimir Potanin

Photographer: Chris J. Ratcliffe/Bloomberg

Russia’s second-richest man says tokens and a digital ruble initiative will give the country’s crypto-skeptical central bank a way to promote new technologies without the risks associated with currencies like Bitcoin. 

Billionaire Vladimir Potanin is an investor in Atomyze, which uses blockchain to turn real assets ranging from metal to homes into tokens that can be easily exchanged. This month, the company’s Russian unit received a license allowing the platform to issue digital assets and offer trading.