On June 30, a Russian criminal court denied a motion to provide restitution to a victim of what would in many jurisdictions be a felony, arguing that Bitcoin (BTC), as a virtual currency, does not enjoy the same property protection as other assets. The case goes back to 2018, when the two men impersonating Federal Security Service (FSB) agents and their accomplices kidnapped the victim and forced him into giving them 5 million rubles or $90,000 in cash and 99.7 BTC — worth about $900,000 at the time. The kidnappers were sentenced to eight- and ten-year prison sentences. Virtual currencies …

Kazakhstan officials revealed the nation’s digital currency development plan to experts from Russia and China at "2020 Astana Online Financial Day". According to the China Ministry of Commerce on July 1, Kazakhstan plans to double its digital currency mining investment by the end of this year, and continues to develop its central bank digital currency. According to the report, Kazakhstan's digital currency mining project attracted 82.6 million Tenge, which is about 20 million USD. The scale of this investment will increase by 80 million Tenge in 2020. Blockchain and CBDC a work in progress The development of blockchain technology gives …

A branch of the Russian federal government has recently published a draft of new litigation called “On Digital Financial Assets,” which is focused on enforcing strict cryptocurrency laws in the country. The legislation has not been approved yet and has been in discussion since 2018. The new laws define Bitcoin as property but not legal tender, and propose, among many other things, that Bitcoin (BTC) miners register as individual companies so they can be appropriately taxed. President Putin is planning on developing and revealing a new tax for Bitcoin miners by July 1, but many are skeptical about the government’s …

Sergei Guriev, professor of Economics at Paris’ Sciences Po and a critic of Vladimir Putin, told Cointelegraph how Bitcoin can be used as a tool to combat authoritarian regimes despite having “no fundamental social value.” Unlike fiat currencies, the purchasing power of Bitcoin is not backed by any institution. That is why, according to Guriev, “Bitcoin is a merely speculative instrument without any fundamental value.” He also pointed out that, unlike company stocks, Bitcoin does not produce or promise to produce cash flow. “Bitcoin is not producing anything of additional value,” he said. It’s value is “only contingent on all …

Russia’s blockchain-based voting system for the constitutional amendments has reportedly been attacked via an election observer’s node. As reported by state-owned news agency TASS, the attack occurred on June 27 around 8 PM CET. A government of Moscow representative told TASS that the attack did not cause a system malfunction, meaning that all e-votes will be successfully recorded on the blockchain. According to the official, cybersecurity experts were working to restore access to the attacked node. It is not clear if it’s been repaired at this point. E-voting, held from June 25 to June 30 for residents of Moscow and …

A Russian national behind the cybercriminal enterprise Infraud Organization has pleaded guilty on June 26 to racketeering conspiracy, due to his role as a co-founder and admin of the dark web-based carding portal which generated profits over $568 million. According to the announcement made by the U.S. Department of Justice, or DOJ, 33-year-old Sergey Medvedev, also known under the pseudonyms “Stells,” “segmed,” and “serjbear,” claimed responsibility for his role in the organization created in October 2010 by a Ukraine national, Svyatoslav Bondarenko. Medvedev pleaded guilty before U.S. District Court Judge James C. Mahan in the District of Nevada. What is …

A Russian hacker was sentenced to nine years in prison by a U.S. court on June 26. The hacker, Aleksei Burkov, was previously considered to be of personal interest by Russian President, Vladimir Putin. Exclusive cybercrime with premium $5k membership fee Burkov was accused of running a website called “Cardplanet” which sold payment card information: “Many of the card numbers offered for sale belonged to U.S. citizens. The stolen credit card data sold on Burkov’s site has resulted in over $20 million in fraudulent purchases made using U.S. credit card accounts.” Allegedly Burkov also ran an exclusive invite-only club for …

Russia’s blockchain-based voting system for the Constitutional amendments is off to a rocky start after going live earlier today, according to local media reports. E-voting, scheduled to take place from June 25 to June 30 for residents of Moscow and Nizhniy Novgorod, is based on the Exonum blockchain platform developed by Bitfury. The blockchain will allegedly help to encrypt votes to provide secure and immutable data. Moscow and Nizhniy Novgorod residents can vote offline or online via a special website that, according to a report from RIA news agency, was inaccessible during the first few hours after going live. According …

Russia has long been home to a vibrant crypto retail market, yet the nation’s regulation of digital assets still lags behind. As a spate of stakeholders and disparate regulatory authorities struggles to figure out a coherent policy framework within a bureaucratic system, much of the cryptocurrency industry remains outside the realm of regulated economic activity — to the chagrin of many entrepreneurs. The central piece of crypto legislation — a bill called “On Digital Financial Assets” (DFA) — progressed through its first round of debate in Russia’s legislature in May 2018, but has remained in the works ever since, stranding …

In a sudden turn of events, Russia’s communications watchdog — Roskomnadzor — issued a public statement on June 18, announcing that it has lifted its ban on the popular messaging app Telegram. This decision comes after a two-year period of the Russian government unsuccessfully attempting to block the popular social media messaging app and its various activities within its borders. On the matter, a number of local media outlets claimed that the reason behind the move was the government’s incompetence to curb Telegram’s use within the country. However, a spokesperson for Roskomnadzor made it clear that that the decision was …

Russia’s decision to lift its two-year Telegram ban is going to mark the beginning of a broader movement to protect privacy-focused apps like Telegram, the company’s CEO says. Pavel Durov, founder and CEO of Telegram, issued a statement in response to Russian authorities officially terminating the ban on the messaging app in the country last week. Telegram’s progress in Russia to help other countries In a June 21 Telegram post, Durov said that the company will not rest on its laurels, and is planning more efforts to support Telegram in other countries like China and Iran. According to Durov, the …

After years of unsuccessful efforts to ban Telegram in Russia, local authorities have finally decided to cancel the ban on the major encrypted messenger in the country. Russia’s Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology and Mass Media, also known as Roskomnadzor, has officially lifted the two-year-long ban on Telegram. In an official statement on Thursday, Roskomnadzor said that the authority has removed requirements restricting the access to the Telegram messenger in agreement with the Prosecutor General of Russia. Announcing the news, Roskomnadzor outlined that the regulator commends Telegram CEO Pavel Durov’s willingness to confront terrorism and extremism. The …