As bitcoin surged through a new record high of more than $17,000 in trading Thursday, Russia now says it will legalize cryptocurrencies less than three weeks after saying it never would.

The latest triple backflip might have earned a 9.9, 10.0 and 9.9 score had the country not been banned from the Olympics. The Russian government is reported to be moving to regulate the use of cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin, though it may at the same time move to ban bitcoin mining.

Russia Today claimed that the country’s finance ministry has proposed making cryptomining illegal while making possession legal. Possibly referring to initial coin offerings, Deputy Finance Minister Aleksey Moiseev is quoted as saying that “the penalties will be different, mostly administrative, but if someone created the cryptocurrency for the purpose of settlements, then there will be a criminal punishment.” Moiseev went on to say specifically that under the proposed legislation, buying and selling bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies would be legalized, though it wasn’t clear when that may happen.

Russia’s decision to legalize bitcoin, at least this week, comes as the cryptocurrency constantly breaks new record highs. Some are describing the rise as the 21st-century version of tulipmania, while others are more colorful. In one case, it was likened to Dante Alighieri’s “Inferno,” the first part of the 14th-century epic poem “Divine Comedy” that describes visiting hell with a tour guide, essentially describing everyone who didn’t buy bitcoin when it was worth far less than it is today.

Bitcoin broke through $15,000 just after 5 a.m. EST, then through $16,000 at 1 p.m. to hit a high of $17,147.45 at 8:54 p.m. Profit takers entered the market, driving the price back down to $16,569.74 as of 11 p.m. But with the insane bull run on bitcoin seemingly never ending, there’s every chance that the price may end up as high as $20,000 in the next few days.

Photo: The Kremlin