Bitcoin (BTC) has had an interesting year, recovering from major sell-offs to eventually skyrocket to new all-time highs. However, Bitcoin's performance and cryptocurrencies increased adoption worldwide have still failed to bring some observers into the crypto camp. Yet compared to other bull run years like 2017, 2020 has seen much less crypto criticism, with a number of Bitcoin naysayers appearing to have somewhat softened their stance towards digital assets. As we look back on crypto in 2020, Cointelegraph has noted some of cryptocurrency's biggest critics. “Bitcoin has no future”: Russian politician Anatoly Aksakov Date of quote: Oct. 23, 2020 Bitcoin …

VTB, the second-largest bank in Russia after Sberbank, has piloted a new blockchain-based system to issue bank guarantees. According to an official announcement last Wednesday, VTB provided a blockchain-enabled bank guarantee to the country’s largest mobile cellular network provider, MTS. As part of the development, the bank issued MTS a guarantee for the fulfillment of payment obligations worth 392 million rubles, or $5 million. The commercial operation implemented Masterchain — an Ethereum-based blockchain prototype backed by the Russian central bank. The parties completed the transaction in real time, with VTB issuing a digital guarantee signed with a reinforced qualified signature. …

Active digitalization of large domestic financial institutions is a noticeable, definitely positive trend. Russia is one of the five world leaders in the speed of transition to cashless payments, and the number of contactless transfers and payments are increasing every year. Such active development requires changes in legislation, and inevitably, many specialists and representatives of the financial sphere turn to the issue of cryptocurrency and its place in the modern financial world. In this matter, the Bank of Russia’s policy mainly focuses on destigmatizing the discourse that surrounds cryptocurrencies. The national central bank does not deem it fit to define …

The defense team of Alexander Vinnik, an alleged Bitcoin launderer who was sentenced to a five-year prison term, disagrees with the court’s decision. According to a Dec. 18 report by Russian news agency Kommersant, Vinnik’s attorney Frederic Belot has appealed the French court’s judgement, arguing that the defendant was not involved in any money laundering operations. Citing a Dec. 6 judgement charging Vinnik for “money laundering as part of an organized criminal group,” Belot emphasized that no “criminal group” consists of one person. “The court did not name a single name even supposedly belonging to this group,” Belot reportedly said. …

A major Bitcoin (BTC) ad scam involving unauthorised images of Australian celebrities who seemingly promoted fake investment schemes is allegedly coming from Russia, according to a new report. Fraudulent Bitcoin ads capitalizing on Australian celebrities like Dick Smith and Andrew Forrest are part of an organized global business that uses at least five addresses in Moscow, an investigation by The Guardian asserts. On Dec. 13, The Guardian published a report providing more details about a major Bitcoin ad scam that has run on news websites since at least 2018. As previously reported, the scam involved fake articles using unauthorised images …

Russia is the latest country to officially require its government officials to report their cryptocurrency holdings. President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree obliging Russian officials to disclose their crypto investments by June 30, 2021, local news agency TASS reported on Dec. 10. Officially released on Thursday, the decree stipulates new measures related to Russia’s federal crypto law “On Digital and Financial Assets,” or DFA. The form requires officials to disclose data like the name of the digital asset, the date of acquisition, the total amount of held assets, as well as information about the issuer of an asset like …

Major cryptocurrency advocates in Russia are opposing the government’s stringent approach to regulating the crypto industry. The Committee on Blockchain Technologies and Cryptoeconomics, whose ranks include executives from major crypto exchanges Binance and OKEx, has called on the state to soften regulations that could potentially harm the crypto industry. The committee told Cointelegraph on Dec. 9 that its members have sent their feedback to the Ministry of Finance regarding a new bill on the taxation of digital currencies such as Bitcoin (BTC). The lobbyists proposed a number of measures like revoking criminal liability for crypto tax reporting failures and reducing …

After years of extradition debates, Bitcoin (BTC) launderer Alexander Vinnik has finally been sentenced by a French court. According to a report on Monday by Novaya Gazeta, Vinnik has been sentenced to five years in prison for "money laundering as part of an organized criminal group and providing false information about the origin of the proceeds" in addition to a fine of 100,000 euro ($121,000). According to the BBC, the court partially dropped charges related to the ransomware known as Locky. As of publishing time, online reports do not specify whether Vinnik’s sentence is related to his alleged senior role …

Senior officials at the Bank of Russia have come out against the issuance of private stablecoins pegged to the Russian ruble. Sergei Shvetsov, a first deputy governor of the Russian central bank, said that the bank aims to ban private firms from offering stablecoins backed by the country’s fiat currency. Russian crypto developers will only be able to use the Bank of Russia’s digital ruble, Shvetsov said. According to a Nov. 30 report by local news agency Prime, the he said that this approach follows the “philosophy of the means of payment’s uniqueness.” Shvetsov referred to China’s digital yuan-related regulations …

Alfa-Bank, one of the largest private commercial banks in Russia, is exploring blockchain technology in its services for freelancers. According to a Dec. 1 announcement, Alfa-Bank will use blockchain-based applications to automate services for freelancers and self-employed workers. Based on Waves Enterprise’s blockchain platform, Alfa-Bank’s new service covers the entire process of registration and remuneration for self-employed individuals, including payments settlement, income registration and tax payments. Denis Dodon, director of Alfa-Bank’s research and development center, told Cointelegraph that the new blockchain-based service enables freelancers to get direct remuneration via any bank: “DLT and embedded smart contracts with an end-to-end integration …

With a new law coming into effect in Russian, the country's largest bank is planning a new blockchain platform for trading, as well as a native token. According to a Monday report from Russian business news outlet RBC, Sberbank is planning to jump into crypto come 2021 when a new law "On Digital Financial Assets," or DFA, is set to come into effect. The news came from Herman Gref, the CEO and chairman of Sberbank. With over 96 million clients, the state-owned bank is the largest bank in Russia. There was speculation several months ago that Sberbank was looking into …

Russian prime minister Mikhail Mishustin has appeared to express support for the further development of the local cryptocurrency market. At a recent governmental meeting held on Nov. 26, Mishustin proposed the introduction of legal protections for crypto holders in the country in order to contribute to the growth of the new industry. According to Mishustin, such a framework would develop the industry in a “civilized way so that the owners of such assets can protect their rights and interests,” while at the same time preventing “shadow schemes.” As part of the plan, Mishustin proposed amending the Russian Tax Code to …