As I get it, no one is actually believing in Bitcoin here
And all that noise that people were making nonstop 24/7 about Bitcoin being "digital gold", "the best store of value ever", "world money", it was all thorough bullshit and elaborate lie, right? So is there a soothing light at the end of the tunnel or is it just the freight train coming our way? On the other hand, Russia not doing well financially (with that freight train coming their way) may be desperately looking for a way out ("wunderwaffe"), and in that case we can expect many strange decisions not quite in line with sound reasoning and logic, bordering on insane
I don't think it's a lack of belief, it's more of believing that Russia will not be able to afford to risk that amount for long-term gains. A lot of believers here are in for the long haul so they couldn't care less about how well Bitcoin is doing in the short term -- something that Russia should probably be very concerned about.
Large entities usually tend to stock up on whatever they plan to buy in, then have news outlets start with what seems to be an empty rumor, where after that the entities themselves confirm the rumors.
It wasn't even a news outlet. The reports apparently came from
one Russian economist, and everyone just picked up on it. He does have ties to the Russian Government though, which is why he was taken seriously.
But yeah, same dude also speculated that
Bitcoin will reach $2m by the end of 2019. He could very well be a sitting on a good amount and wants to make some cash. We won't know for sure though, I guess.