Vladimir Putin has recently acknowledged that the Russian Federation is currently examining using national digital currencies as key elements of a new alternative payment platform. Putin added that such a system would work “smoothly and independently of third countries,” a characteristic Russia would seek in such a platform. Putin stressed that this objective was generalized, as more countries were also studying the use of these assets for the same reason. However, he also outlined the intricacies of building such a platform, given the level of integration of major trading partners with the current financial system.