Last Monday, there was a striking headline in the Daily Telegraph: "Russia looks to bitcoin to soften effects of US Sanctions". The immediate impact on bitcoin's price was minimal, though it did rise 4.2% later in the day, after Zerohedge picked up the story.

The Telegraph's source seemed credible. Vladislav Ginko is an economist at the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration, which is the training ground for Russia's political and administrative elite, a Russian equivalent of France's École Nationale d'Adminstration. Professor Ginko appears to be a firm believer in bitcoin and its technology, and he seems well-connected. But it is not a brand-new story. Earlier this month he tweeted the following: