Only 2% of Russians have invested in Bitcoin (BTC) so far, according to a new survey by the Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VTsIOM) published on April 9. The VTsIOM, the oldest polling institution in post-Soviet Russia, revealed that Bitcoin has not gained popularity in the country, with two thirds of Russians considering a purchase of the cryptocurrency as a bad investment. The research center has not provided either a time frame for the poll, or the number of total respondents involved in the survey. With that, 56% of Russians claimed that they were aware of Bitcoin, while 18% said …

Russian social media giant Vkontakte (VK) has launched an internal currency, VK Coin, that can be “mined,” local state-owned media outlet Tass reported on April 1. The move follows recent reports this week that VK was launching a bespoke cryptocurrency. The official information provided on VK Coin, however, does not indicate that the coin is based on blockchain technology. It does, however, encourage users to “mine” the coin via VK’s services. The service works via a mobile app clicker game that lets users earn the internal currency, send it to other users and compete for a top winners list, based …

The Russian prime minister has welcomed an initiative to use blockchain in agreements over gas supplies by the country’s state-owned gas giant Gazprom, local finance news outlet Vestifinance reports on April 4. The news agency operates under Russian Television and Radio Broadcasting Company (RTR), a major TV channel. The head of Russia’s state-owned gas giant Gazprom, Alexey Miller, has met with Russian prime minister Dmitry Medvedev to report on the development of applications powered by distributed ledger technology (DLT). According to Miller, Gazprom has carried out substantive work with Russia’s state-owned bank Gazprombank, and has developed a prototype model that …

The most popular social media platform in Russia, VKontakte (VK), is considering developing its own cryptocurrency, local news outlet RNS reported on March 28. Per the report, an unspecified person familiar with the company’s plans told the outlet that the project involves the creation of individual cryptocurrency accounts for all the users of the platform. Still, the article also claims that the firm has not yet made a final decision about whether or not to launch the coin. According to the report, RNS has obtained a presentation from the VK that shows how one of the ways users would be …

Russian billionaire Vladimir Potanin is planning to create cryptocurrency tokens backed by palladium, Bloomberg reported on March 27. Potanin — who is CEO of the Russian nickel and palladium mining and smelting company MMC Norilsk Nickel PJSC (Nornickel) — plans to deploy cryptocurrency tokens for trading palladium through a Switzerland-based palladium fund, and wants to launch several digital platforms. According to Bloomberg, the platform will enable more fluid transactions. Currently, should a buyer discover that they do not need all the contracted volume in a purchase, they must either renegotiate with the supplier or sit on the excess supply until …

New York-based fintech infrastructure provider trueDigital Holdings (TDH) is partnering with crypto data firm Kaiko and digital assets analytics company Inca Digital Securities to widen the distribution of its over-the-counter (OTC) reference rates for Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH). The development was shared with Cointelegraph in a press release on March 25. As reported last year, TrueEX created TDH as an affiliate in March 2018, immediately announcing a TDH partnership with prominent blockchain tech firm ConsenSys (created by Ethereum co-founder Joseph Lubin) to create a benchmark rate for the price of Ethereum. The newly forged strategic partnership deal will see …

The State Duma of the Russian Federation has deferred consideration of the bill “On Digital Financial Assets” to April 2019, local media outlet TASS reported on March 20. The second reading of the draft federal law “On Digital Financial Assets” has reportedly been rescheduled for April, following a decision made at the morning voting on the agenda of the plenary session. The initiative was taken by the Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Financial Market, Anatoly Aksakov, although he did not explain his motives. The bill “On Digital Financial Assets” aims to formulate national cryptocurrency legislation, and was adopted …

Former operator of now-shuttered crypto exchange BTC-e, Russian national Alexander Vinnik, has appealed with a Greek court for his release or extradition to Russia, local media outlet Kathimerini reported on March 21. Vinnik — who is accused of fraud and laundering as much as $4 billion in Bitcoin (BTC) over the course of six years — has reportedly filed an appeal with Piraeus court for his release or extradition to Russia for humanitarian reasons. Prior to that, Russia’s Commissioner for Human Rights Tatyana Moskalkova asked both the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet and Greek Justice Minister …

Russia’s parliament, the State Duma, has voted to enact new digital rights legislation in October this year, according to a press release on the Duma’s official website on March 12. The changes to Russia’s civil codex passed their third and final Duma reading on Tuesday. The law reportedly establishes the concept of “digital rights” in Russian legislation with the addition of a new article, 141.1, of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. The law determines how digital rights can be exercised and transferred, as well establishes rules for digital transactions, including contracts. The press release quotes the Chairman of …

The United States Treasury Department has added Moscow-based bank Evrofinance Mosnarbank to its sanctions list, alleging it was the “primary international financial institution willing to finance” Venezuela’s controversial national oil-backed cryptocurrency, Petro (PTR). The news was announced in an official Treasury press release published on March 11. In its statement, the Treasury accused Evrofinance — which is reportedly jointly owned by Russian and Venezuelan state-owned companies — of materially assisting efforts to launch the cryptocurrency, which it characterized as a “failed” project: “When the failed Venezuelan cryptocurrency, called the Petro, launched in 2018, Evrofinance emerged as the primary international financial …

The Central Bank of Russia wants to set an annual limit for so-called “unqualified investors” that want to purchase digital assets, local business media giant RBC reported on Tuesday, March 12. According to the documents obtained by RBC, the bank wants to amend the current draft crypto bill, dubbed “On Digital Financial Assets,” which recently passed a second of three readings in Russia’s parliament, the State Duma. The central bank’s paper recommends equating investor limits to the ones set in a draft bill on crowdfunding, which is also being reviewed by the Russian parliament. The head of the State Duma’s …

The ruling party of the Russian Federation, United Russia, has launched a blockchain-based platform for electronic voting, local news agency TASS reported on March 6. United Russia has reportedly launched an updated website for its primaries with the added function of e-voting. The party’s head of IT projects Vyacheslav Sateyev said that the vote counting process will be implemented using blockchain technology. He also stated: "Candidates will be able to fill in their personal pages on this site, including posting news, videos, photos, distributing their pages. The personal account is now integrated with all social networks. We have also made …