While the rising transaction fees are making bitcoin less usable for everyday purchases, its strength is drawing in companies and nation-states looking to use the cryptocurrency. This is especially true for those locked out of the international financial system, as can be seen by the thinking of a top Putin aide.

Sergei Glazyev, adviser to Russian President Vladimir Putin, thinks bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies can help the country's banking system to bypass Western sanctions, the Russian Rambler News Service reports. He said that the sanctions regime has created an "objective need" for cryptocurrencies at a meeting of the presidential administration on their legal status, according to Rambler.

He also advocated the creation of a national crypto ruble at the meeting, according to Rambler. Glazyev even suggested that Russian government agencies could use cryptocurrencies for transactions around the world related to "sensitive" services, the news agency added.