Russian President Vladimir Putin thinks cryptocurrencies have value — but he’s not convinced they can replace the U.S. dollar in settling oil trades. Some months ago, Russia’s deputy prime minister, Alexander Novak, suggested the country could move away from greenback-denominated crude contracts if the U.S. continues to impose targeted economic sanctions. Asked whether bitcoin or another cryptocurrency could be used as an alternative to the dollar, Putin said it’s “too early to talk about the trade of energy resources in crypto.” “I believe that it has value,” he told CNBC’s Hadley Gamble at the Russian Energy Week ... (full story)