Sberbank, the largest state-owned bank in Russia, has reportedly filed an application with the Bank of Russia to launch a blockchain platform for its “Sbercoin” stablecoin. Sergey Popov, director of the transaction business at Sberbank, announced the news on Jan. 21 at a local financial event Russian news agency Interfax reports. At “Digital transformation and prospects for regulating the digital economy,” Popov said that Sberbank applied with the central bank in early January, explaining that the registration procedure usually takes no longer than 45 days. As such, the bank may launch its platform and stablecoin by the spring this year, …

The website of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, Binance, is no longer formally blacklisted in Russia, according to a new court ruling. According to a Jan. 21 report by Russian news agency Kommersant, the Arkhangelsk Regional Court has annulled a previous decision to blacklist the Binance website in Russia. Gleb Kostarev, Binance’s head of operations for Russia and the CIS, confirmed the news to Cointelegraph, stating that the court hearing took place on Jan. 20. The latest court decision reverts a previous ruling made in 2020. In September, Binance announced that its website came on the list of prohibited websites …

The world’s largest producer of palladium and high-grade nickel, Norilsk Nickel, is pressing ahead with its digital technologies strategy. As of Jan. 18, Nornickel's Global Palladium Fund has launched exchange-traded commodities, or ETCs, for metals on the Deutsche Börse, which are custodied by TokenTrust AG and also make use of its distributed ledger platform, Atomyze. Nornickel's Global Palladium Fund intends to launch the ETCs on the London Stock Exchange "within a few days." An ETC, which is an instrument that is tradable like a stock or share, offers traders and investors exposure to an underlying commodity — in this case, …

Russian cryptocurrency exchange Livecoin has announced it is shutting down after abruptly halting operations in late December 2020. According to Livecoin’s main page, the exchange is unable to continue operations due to financial and technical damages caused by an alleged attack on its servers in late 2020. Livecoin announced the shutdown on Jan. 16 on Twitter, linking to its new domain “Livecoin.news.” Livecoin’s previous domain Livecoin.net is not available at publishing time. Livecoin said that it is looking to “pay the remaining funds” to its clients, asking users to contact the exchange via email to complete verification. In order to …

"Mining" may be most frequently used in the crypto industry to refer to the process by which digital currencies are collectively generated — but there are contexts in which firms are adopting blockchain infrastructure to manage the most physical of mining supply chains. The Russian company Norilsk Nickel — the world’s largest producer of palladium and high-grade nickel and a large producer of platinum and copper — has joined an initiative called the Responsible Sourcing Blockchain Network, according to an announcement published on Jan. 14. The Responsible Sourcing Blockchain Network, or RSBN, is the outcome of an initiative by the …

Anatoly Aksakov, a member of the Russian State Duma, has reiterated his negative stance on Bitcoin (BTC) shortly after the cryptocurrency briefly retouched $40,000 on Jan. 14. In an interview with local news agency TASS, Aksakov argued that Bitcoin is not backed by anything and thus the Bitcoin bubble is poised to burst sooner or later: “Bitcoin is not backed by anything as a cryptocurrency. This is a private currency, and its value is based on trust of the related data system. In this context Bitcoin provides a basis for a bubble on the crypto market, and I think this …

Russia’s central bank digital currency, or CBDC, could contain a number of risks related to cybersecurity and fraud, according to several local financial institutions. The Association of Russian Banks, or ARB, has released its official feedback on Russia’s digital ruble project on Jan. 13. The study included 17 ABR credit institutions in Russia accounting for 58% of the total assets of the domestic banking system. According to the report, the majority of ARB members believe that risks associated with the digital ruble are similar to those of cashless transactions powered by banking accounts and cards, as well as cryptocurrencies. The …

Major global cryptocurrency exchange Huobi is introducing Russia’s national fiat currency on its trading platform. According to a Jan. 12 announcement, Huobi Global now supports deposits and withdrawals in the Russian ruble. The new feature enables users to purchase and sell major cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), Tether (USDT), and Litecoin (LTC) for rubles. Other supported coins include EOS, Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Ethereum Classic (ETC), Bitcoin SV (BSV), DASH, as well as two Huobi-backed tokens like Huobi Token (HT) and Huobi Pool Token (HPT). To add ruble support, Huobi partnered with AdvCash, a fiat and crypto payment processor. The …

Beginning investors in Russia will soon find themselves with fewer options to beat plummeting interest rates offered at Russian savings accounts. In addition to the investors themselves, the big losers are likely to be trading apps like Robinhood, which aim at first-timers. Per a Dec. 30 announcement, the Central Bank of Russia is working to get securities trading platforms to toe the line on "risk-reduction" measures first passed in July. In the latest announcement, the CBR recommends securities platforms and applications have systems to "secure the impossibility of executing on-platform trades resulting in the acquisition of stocks or other securities …

It has been a blazing start to a new decade, with 13% more large, uncontrolled wildfires around the world this year compared with 2019. This has spelled dire consequences for CO2 levels, which have made worse a terrible COVID-19 pandemic that has led to unprecedented worldwide lockdowns that have rapidly pushed the economy toward digitization. Related: How has the COVID-19 pandemic affected the crypto space? Experts answer As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, governments around the world have been forced to focus on integrating blockchain technology into their financial services. At the 75th anniversary of the United Nations General …

Livecoin, a lesser-known Russian cryptocurrency exchange, has abruptly halted operations in the aftermath of an alleged hacker attack on Christmas day. According to Livecoin’s main page, the exchange has suffered a “carefully planned attack” causing the platform to lose control of all of its servers, backend and nodes. The exchange urged its customers to stop using its services including deposits, trading and API. “We were not able to stop our service in time. Our news channels were compromised as well. At the moment, we partially control frontend, and so we’re able to place this announcement," Livecoin’s main page reads. Livecoin …

The Russian government is anticipating more cryptocurrencies to be issued in the local market in 2021, according to a senior official. Anatoly Aksakov, a member of the Russian State Duma and a key representative of local crypto legislation efforts, said that the Duma’s Committee on Financial Markets expects Russian crypto issuance to surge after the adoption of the country’s new crypto law on Jan. 1, 2020. Passed in July 2020, the law “On Digital Financial Assets” provides legal status to crypto, but bans people from using cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) as a payment tool. According to a Dec. 21 report …