In a statement that seems to contradict Russia’s recent efforts toward establishing a cryptocurrency industry, deputy finance minister Alexey Moiseev has said that only “qualified investors” may be allowed to purchase digital currency.

An interview of Moiseev by TV channel Rossiya 24 produced statements that seemed wildly out-of-step. Moiseev said only investors who have a “reason” for buying cryptocurrency would have the option to do so. “I said qualified investors, and not private ones,” he said. Moiseev also called cryptocurrency a “pyramid” scheme, and noted, “For ordinary people, there’s no way, because these are very dangerous investments that could lead to loss of money.”

Moiseev may not have gotten the memo. In recent weeks, such developments as a close advisor to President Vladimir Putin starting a state-invested crypto mining operation that would compete with the Chinese monopoly in that sector, and the Bank of Russia drawing up plans for cryptocurrency taxation, have been put forth.

The state has also proposed starting its own cryptocurrency, although that plan seems far off. Moiseev’s statements also offered no solutions on how the government would block Russian private citizens from experiments with cryptocurrency investments.