SOCHI, October 17. /TASS/. Russia’s Economic Development Minister Maxim Oreshkin compared investment in bitcoin with gambling and stressed that in case with crypto currency there are more risks.

He voiced his opinion speaking at the International Festival of Youth and Students in Sochi.

"As for bitcoin: if you look at how the value of this asset fluctuates, it's dozens of percent points up, dozens down. A normal asset that can bring money to eligible investors should not have such characteristics, since it's worse than a casino," the minister said.

According to Oreshkin, an investor who does not know how to manage risks should not have the opportunity to invest in instruments with such volatility. "In 99.9% of cases this leads to losses," he concluded.

Bitcoin launched in January 2009 is the most well-known cryptocurrency in the world. Bitcoins represent "virtual money," being a program online code not regulated by any country or banking supervision authority. It can guarantee complete anonymity of a person or a group of people using it.

Russia has plans to develop a domestic virtual currency, Deputy Chairperson of the Bank of Russia Olga Skorobogatova said earlier at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.

Earlier this month, head of the Bank of Russia Elvira Nabiullina said that the regulator does not consider it feasible to legalize crypto currencies on Russian exchanges. But the regulator plans to study ways of using crypto currencies, she added.

Russia’s Finance Ministry proposed legalizing transactions with bitcoin only on exchanges and only for eligible investors.