Russians See Growing Number of Options to Buy Cryptocurrencies

Interest towards cryptocurrencies in Russia remained relatively stable throughout 2018, despite the significant drop in their prices. Ruble-denominated trade on Localbitcoins, for example, has shown a generally positive trend since last spring. In the past year, Russians also saw a growing number of other options to purchase digital coins. Also read: Abkhazia Temporarily Shuts Down … Read more

Huobi and Major Russian Bank to Provide Legal Help to the Crypto Industry

The recently established Russian subsidiary of global cryptocurrency exchange Huobi and Vnesheconombank, Russia’s state-owned development bank, are now partnering to offer crypto companies legal support and advice. The newly created “legal lab” will also represent blockchain businesses in court. Also read: German Startup Devises Eco-Friendly Energy-Efficient Miners Legal Lab to Assist Crypto Companies in Russian … Read more

The Daily: Argentina Meets 2019 With New BATMs, Russia Budgets Millions to Block Sites

In this edition of The Daily, we focus on the growing number of bitcoin ATMs in Argentina. Five new devices have been installed recently in Buenos Aires. We also look at a report that Russia’s telecom watchdog plans to spend millions of dollars to restrict access to banned websites and services such as Telegram. And … Read more

Arbitrators to Resolve Disputes in the Russian Cryptocurrency Industry

A leading industry organization in Russia has decided to establish an arbitration body to look into disputes within the digital economy, including matters related to cryptocurrency transactions, as well as rights and responsibilities in token sales and the implementation of smart contracts. Also read: Ukraine Plans to Fully Legalize Cryptocurrencies Within Three Years Industry Organization … Read more

Russia’s Financial Watchdog to Oversee the Cryptocurrency Industry

Russia’s Federal Financial Monitoring Service has revealed that it will regulate cryptocurrency-related transactions in the country, with a senior official saying that the agency will also oversee the broader cryptocurrency industry, in accordance with recommendations issued by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). Also read: Ukraine Plans to Fully Legalize Cryptocurrencies Within Three Years Rosfinmonitoring … Read more

Former Russian Economics Minister Sees Huge Potential for Cryptocurrency

Herman Gref, the former Russian minister of economics and trade and the current CEO of Russia’s largest bank, Sberbank, recently articulated his expectation that cryptocurrency will have a profoundly transformative effect upon society in coming decades. Despite his longer-term outlook, Gref also expressed his belief that cryptocurrency and distributed ledger technology still needs up to … Read more

Russian Lawmakers Drop ‘Mining’ References in Digital Assets Bill

Russian lawmakers have dropped the term “mining” from a bill to regulate digital assets, following the earlier removal of references to “cryptocurrency.” In addition, the proposed legislation no longer covers the taxation of mining profits, as such matters will fall under the oversight of the Federal Tax Service. Also read: Despite Setbacks Crypto Wages Still … Read more

Church Mining Cryptocurrency Told to Pay Higher Electricity Rates

The outcome of a court case in Russia may affect the popular practice of cryptocurrency mining in basements and garages. According to a recent ruling, a church in Irkutsk must pay higher electricity rates for installing and running mining hardware on its premises. ‘Grace’, the religious organization of the local evangelical community, has been taking … Read more

Popular Bitcoin Wallet Samourai Ditches All Government Currencies

In what could be construed as calling the casual enthusiast’s bluff, BTC maximalists at the Samourai project announced, “All fiat currency conversions have been removed from Samourai Wallet. We understand this may inconvenience some, it may even be enough to cause us to lose some users, but we believe it is fundamental that our existing … Read more

Russian Crypto Groups in Telegram Increase Membership Despite Ban

The members of crypto-related Telegram channels have increased in number since the messenger was banned by a Moscow court in April, according to a study covering the top 50 Russian language groups. Despite a decrease in the views of published posts during the summer months, the readership of all examined groups has jumped by 21%, … Read more