Russia’s central bank has scheduled a risk assessment for cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC), according to the Bank of Russia’s screening program for the second half of 2021. The examination of the potential risks of cryptocurrency investing will consider “systemic risks linked to cryptocurrency investment by Russian individuals and entities.” As part of the investigation, the Bank of Russia will collect data from 15 credit organizations including major banks like Sberbank, VTB and Tinkoff Bank, payment systems like Visa and Mastercard, and electronic payment providers like Western Union, Qiwi and WebMoney. The Bank of Russia is also looking to release a …

The central bank of Russia is setting up a group of banking institutions to test its central bank digital currency (CBDC) next year. On Tuesday, the Bank of Russia officially announced the establishment of the first pilot group for testing the digital ruble, bringing together 12 Russian banks. The pilot members include Russia’s largest banks like state-backed Sberbank and VTB, as well as major private banks like Tinkoff Bank. Other participants include commercial bank Alfa Bank, Gazprombank, Promsvyazbank, Rosbank, Ak Bars Bank, Dom.RF, SKB-Bank, TKB and Soyuz bank. The bank reaffirmed Russia’s plans to complete a prototype digital ruble platform …

The Bank of Russia continues its tough stance on cryptocurrency trading despite growing concerns over the country missing out on the digital asset industry. The governor of Russia’s central bank, Elvira Nabiullina, reiterated the bank’s negative stance on crypto in a Monday interview with Komsomolskaya Pravda, arguing that crypto is one of the most dangerous investments that currently exist. Nabiullina mentioned crypto within the context of other high-risk investment spaces like foreign exchange markets. “It’s far easier to lose on the foreign exchange market than to win,” she said, stating that “speculative crypto assets” are even riskier. The bank governor …

Russian industrial tycoon Oleg Deripaska is the latest figure to criticize the Bank of Russia’s stance on cryptocurrency regulation in the country. Deripaska took to his official Telegram channel on Thursday to blast the Russian central bank for pressuring local industry to avoid getting involved into cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC). The Russian oligarch pointed out that even small countries like El Salvador have moved into Bitcoin by recognizing it as legal tender: “Even poor El Salvador, known for being close to oft-mentioned Honduras, has realized the need for digital currencies and taken a simple path, recognizing Bitcoin as a means …

United States President Joe Biden implied he made some progress in addressing ransomware attacks on critical infrastructure after speaking with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Following a Wednesday summit in Geneva, Biden said he had spoken with Putin on the issue of cybersecurity, the U.S. president making it clear his opinion was certain areas of critical infrastructure were off limits for attacks — whether the targets were in Russia or the United States. Biden said the meeting had a positive tone, but he had told Putin “the United States will respond to actions that impair our vital interests or those of …

A Russian State Duma member has blasted the central bank’s tough stance on the cryptocurrency industry for ignoring the growing demand for crypto in the country. Fedot Tumusov, a member of the “A Just Russia” party representing the Siberian region of Yakutsk, has criticized the Bank of Russia’s approach to regulating the crypto industry following a Tuesday plenary meeting of the State Duma. In a Tuesday Telegram post, Tumusov outlined the growing need to create an ecosystem that allows Russian residents to purchase cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) amid increasing demand. The official argued that despite Russia enforcing crypto legislation earlier …

Sberbank and VTB, the two biggest banks in Russia, are not willing to move into the cryptocurrency market in the near future as their CEOs believe that crypto is either too risky or fake money. Sberbank CEO Herman Gref said that cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) are probably the riskiest type of investment alongside the equity market. In a Thursday interview with local TV channel NTV, Gref claimed that a banking deposit is the best investment option as it is associated with the least amount of risk despite low returns: “A banking deposit is certainly the most reliable investment instrument. 100% …

Tinkoff, a major private bank in Russia, is struggling to offer cryptocurrency trading to its clients due to the central bank’s tough stance on digital assets. Tinkoff CEO Oliver Hughes said that the digital bank is willing to offer crypto trading services but is restrained by the Bank of Russia’s policies, CNBC reported. The executive announced the news at the Saint Petersburg International Economic Forum on Thursday, stating: “There’s no mechanism for us to offer that product to them in Russia at the moment because the central bank has got this very tough position.” Hughes said that the bank has …

Anatoly Aksakov, a member of Russia’s State Duma and a key spokesman for the country’s cryptocurrency legislation process, claimed that he has never owned any Bitcoin (BTC). Aksakov said that he doesn’t hold any Bitcoin and likely won't, as the government has prohibited officials from purchasing crypto, local news agency TASS reported on Thursday. The official went on to say that he was willing to buy some Bitcoin as an investment before the ban came into force last year. However, he thought that the price was too high at the time: “I wanted to buy only in order to accumulate. …

Russian lawmakers are reportedly weighing a partial reversal of the country’s ban on cryptocurrency payments. Pavel Krasheninnikov, chairman of the Russian Duma’s Committee on State Building and Legislation, announced that the government is considering amending civil law to allow crypto payments as a “contractual medium.” According to Interfax on Monday, Krasheninnikov noted that cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) do not currently represent a legal payment method in Russia, which means that merchants are not required to accept it. The planned amendments would allow crypto payments in Russia under contractual law — meaning that such payments would be only possible with the …

Trust in state-backed digital currencies will be “immeasurably higher” than trust in public cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC), Russian former Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev argued. Medvedev, the incumbent deputy chief of Russia’s Security Council, spoke on cryptocurrencies and central bank digital currencies, or CBDCs, at the Saint Petersburg International Legal Forum on Tuesday, local news agency TASS reported. The official pointed out the crucial role of digital transparency associated with emerging financial technologies like public cryptocurrencies. “It’s time to recognize their importance,” Medvedev noted, also stressing the role of new digital forms of money like central bank digital currencies. “It is …

Russia's State Duma has approved a new draft bill in its first reading that would require election candidates to disclose their crypto holdings, expenditures and purchases. The draft bill also asks election candidates to indicate a source of income for cryptocurrency purchases and requires crypto declarations not only from the actual candidates but also their spouses and minor children for the past three years. Introduced in March, the draft bill includes a set of amendments to existing Russian law like those on presidential and State Duma deputy elections, guarantees of the electoral rights, as well as the country’s major cryptocurrency …