A subsidiary of Rostec, a Russian state-owned high-tech conglomerate, has partnered with blockchain platform Vostok, major Russian news agency Tass reports on Feb. 14. The joint agreement was signed by Rostec subsidiary National Center for Informatization (NCI) and tech company Vostok, which provides a blockchain platform combining its own private blockchain and the Vostok system integrator. Global blockchain platform Waves raised $120 million in December 2018 for the Vostok platform, which uses Waves technology for both commercial and government IT systems. According to the agreement, Vostok will be responsible for the development of solutions based on blockchain for NCI to …

The Ministry of Justice of Russia does not see the need to legally define the concept of cryptocurrency at this point, state-owned news agency TASS reported on Feb. 13. Alexander Konovalov, the Minister of Justice of Russia, reportedly claimed that it is too early to formalize crypto-related legislation to date. Konovalov based his remarks on the fact that cryptocurrencies cannot be used as a payment method in the country, according to the Russian Constitution. Both the constitution and current financial system legislation in Russia “categorically prohibit” using cryptocurrencies as a means of payment, Konovalov argued, citing article 75 of the …

Russian shipping logistics company Infotech Baltika will develop a blockchain-based system for the ports in which it operates, Russian maritime news outlet Morvesti reported on Feb. 11. To develop the blockchain-based solution, dubbed Edge.Port, the firm has partnered with Moscow-based blockchain startup Iconic. The network will reportedly allow participants in port activity to store all necessary documentation on a blockchain. According to Morvesti, all services in port, including vessel parking and tug boat rentals, can be ordered and tracked online via the system, without time-consuming paperwork. Infotech Baltika told the publication that Edge.Port will enable the firm to reduce the …

The Moscow municipal government is planning to launch a blockchain-based city innovation cluster by summer 2019, Russian news agency TASS reports on Feb. 11. The upcoming platform for the city’s IT innovation cluster will enable participants to find potential partners, as well as learn about their products and equipment, according to Alexey Fursin, Head of the Department of Business and Innovation of Moscow. Fursin noted that the platform’s entrants will be also be able to receive financial support through grants from the Moscow government. According to the official, the upcoming platform is based on the state-supported city navigation hub dubbed …

Andrey Kostin — the head of VTB, Russia’s second-largest bank — has compared cryptocurrency mining with counterfeiting, major Russian news agency TASS reports Monday, Feb. 4. While speaking to students who participated in an educational contest organized by major Russian tech corporation Yandex, Kostin said: “I am not a big fan of the crypto ruble. To me, this is a kind of counterfeiting. A person who is mining [cryptocurrencies] is similar to someone who is printing money. During the initial euphoria, everyone thought that everything can be paid in crypto starting tomorrow, but it hasn’t happened so far.” Kostin believes …

The Russian Federal Service for Supervision in the Sphere of Education and Science, (Rosobrnadzor) will implement blockchain technology in the country’s main graduation examination, major Russian news agency TASS reports Feb. 5. Starting this year, Rosobrnadzor intends to implement blockchain technology in the Unified State Exam (USE), which is the only form of graduation examinations in schools and the main form of preliminary examinations in universities in Russia. The announcement was made by the head of the Federal Service, Sergey Kravtsov. He stated: “We also talked about the use of blockchain technology in the USE, and this year this technology …

After stealing $5 million in cryptocurrency from 40 victims through SIM swapping, 20-year-old Joel Ortiz, pleaded guilty to theft and accepted a plea deal of 10 years in prison as reported by Motherboard, a division of news outlet VICE, on Feb 1. Ortiz accepted the plea deal last week, according to Erin West, the Deputy District Attorney of Santa Clara County, California. He will officially be sentenced on Mar 14. Authorities reportedly state that Ortiz is the first individual convicted of a crime for SIM swapping. "We think justice has been served. And hopefully, this is a strong message to …

The chairman of the upper house of Russian parliament has urged MPs to expedite their work on digital economy bills that include a draft on crypto regulation, local news agency TASS reports on Tuesday, Jan. 29. Valentina Matvienko, who has headed the Federation Council since 2011, spoke to officials from several institutions, including the Upper House Committee for Economic Policy and Russia’s Ministry of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media. She asked him to investigate the reasons behind the significant delay with the digital economy bills, TASS writes. According to Matvienko, these bills have already spent a year in the …

Russia’s Ministry of Education and Science (Minobrnauki) has introduced a blockchain-enabled platform for tracking natural diamonds, government-backed news agency TASS reports today, Jan. 30. The new Russian diamond tracking technology claims to fully guarantee the authenticity of diamond products across all the supply chain, from extraction and polishing to the final owner. Based on emerging IT technologies and blockchain, the new system intends to prevent market participants from losing their financial assets since the diamond market has both natural and synthetic diamonds, as well as fake stones, TASS reports. According to Minobrnauki, the technology has been developed by Russian startup …

Iran is reportedly negotiating with eight countries to carry out financial transactions in cryptocurrency, local daily newspaper Tehran Times reports on Monday, Jan. 28. According to the article, Iran has already entered negotiations with Switzerland, South Africa, France, the United Kingdom, Russia, Austria, Germany and Bosnia, and the countries have reportedly visited Iran to discuss the matter. It was not immediately clear whether the news concerns the national cryptocurrency that Iran is allegedly set to launch vin the near future. However, the article notes that the talks on crypto transactions were held order to circumvent the ongoing United States sanctions …

Iran could unveil its state-backed cryptocurrency at the Electronic Banking and Payment Systems conference in Tehran this week, local English-language news outlet Al Jazeera reported on Jan. 27. Iran, which has faced fresh sanctions from the United States since November, had previously planned to use blockchain-based financial tools as a way of sidestepping restrictions on its economic growth. Though a central bank-issued digital currency (CBDC), which could be a rial-backed crypto, it was thought Tehran could forge an alternative to SWIFT, the global settlements system that some Iranian banks cannot access. Sources remain unsure whether such a large-scale implementation will …

Global messaging app Telegram plans to release the mainnet and token for its blockchain-based Telegram Open Network (TON) platform as early as March 2019. The news was revealed to Cointelegraph by a source close to Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov today, Jan. 23. Telegram — which reportedly counts 200+ million active users per month, placing it among the top ten most popular messaging apps worldwide — raised almost $1.7 billion in two private initial coin offering (ICO) rounds last year for both Telegram and its forthcoming platform TON. Cointelegraph’s source has emphasized that Durov was reluctant to confirm a …