The Arbitration Center at Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP) has announced the creation of a board for disputes on issues pertaining the “digital economy,” including crypto-related cases, Kommersant reported Wednesday, Oct. 31. The chamber will reportedly be created to hear cases related to blockchain technology, smart contracts and Initial Coin Offerings (ICO). As per experts cited by the newspaper, the number of such cases will increase up to 40 times from 2020-2025. Elina Sidorenko — who heads a Duma working group evaluating the possible risks of cryptocurrencies — said that the framework for the chamber has already been …

The topic of implementing blockchain technology for voting was discussed at an event hosted by the Russian Central Election Commission (CEC), local state-owned news agency TASS reported Oct. 29. Speaking at the Election Commission’s conference to celebrate 25 years of Russia’s electoral system, participants and officials discussed electronic voting, including blockchain-powered solutions. In a response to the discussion of blockchain at the conference, Ella Pamfilova, the head of the Election Commission, suggested “rebranding” the technology in Russia: "To promote this technology [blockchain] in Russia we need some rebranding. We need... kind of Russian equivalent that takes into account our mentality …

The world’s largest diamond mining firm, Russia’s Alrosa, has joined the pilot of fellow industry giant De Beers’ diamond supply chain blockchain platform “Tracr,” mining industry news outlet Mining Weekly reports Oct. 29. Alrosa is reported to be the world’s largest producer of raw diamonds in carat terms; together with De Beers, the two firms produce around half of the world’s supply. In Q3 2018, the firm’s rough diamond sales rose 12 percent year-on-year to $949 million in value, even as sales in carats declined. Tracr, whose pilot was first announced in January, aims to improve transparency and consumer trust …

All member states of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) should adopt its recommendation to control the exchange of cryptocurrency, their storage and more, Russian daily news outlet Izvestia quoted a government regulator as saying Monday, Oct. 29. The Paris-based FATF is an intergovernmental organization established in 1989 with the aim of developing standards to fight money laundering and other illicit forms of financing. Earlier in October, the FATF announced changes to its standards in regards to digital currencies and businesses involved with crypto-related activities. In its updated guidelines, the FATF notes that virtual asset service providers should be subject …

A lobby group of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP) has recently sent its proposals for crypto regulation to country’s prime minister Dmitry Medvedev, Russian business media RBC reports Monday, Oct. 22. Per a document obtained by RBC, the head of RSPP Alexander Shokhin criticizes the main draft that was accepted by the Russian State Duma in the first of three readings in May. He urges Medvedev to postpone the hearings until 2019 to develop new aspects of the draft law that would serve both entrepreneurs’ and regulators’ interests. According to Shokhin, the current legislation, if accepted, would …

The long-awaited Russian draft bill on cryptocurrency and blockchain regulation will let privately held businesses and legal entities “digitize” their shares and store them via blockchain, local media outlet Vedomosti reported Oct. 21. As per the new edition of the draft bill “On Digital Financial Assets,” obtained by Vedomosti, the Russian State Duma is planning to allow owners of privately held companies to create and sell so-called “digital financial assets (DFA)” that act as digitized equity for the company. DFA data will reportedly be verified by the Russian Central Bank and stored via blockchain. According to Russian business-focused news outlet …

Russian deputies have removed the definition of crypto mining from a draft bill on digital currency regulation ahead of its next reading in the State Duma, major local news agency Interfax reports Oct. 19. Consequently, the new law will not clarify tax issues for miners. The chairman of the Duma Committee on Financial Markets Anatoly Aksakov briefly explained the reason behind the deputies’ decision to eliminate a core crypto term from the bill: “Earlier we had some thoughts on Bitcoins, on their integration into our economic system. But as we decided we don’t need them, these ambiguous Bitcoins, therefore we …

Herman Gref, CEO of state-owned Sberbank – Russia’s largest banking conglomerate – believes that global governments won’t “let go” of centralized models to “allow” decentralized cryptocurrencies to flourish within the next 10 years, local news agency RIA Novosti reports Oct. 18. According to Gref, governments are not yet ready to part with centralized currencies and thus will not let decentralized digital coins gain mass adoption: “[The future] of cryptocurrencies is not clear so far as the state will not give up its central role, won’t allow [decentralized] cryptocurrencies. Though this might be the proper model – as for me, I’m …

The head of Russia’s central bank, Elvira Nabiullina, believes that “crypto fever” is beginning to diminish, major Russian news agency RIA Novosti reports Thursday, Oct. 18. Nabiullina, while speaking at finance innovation forum Finnopolis held in the South Russian city of Sochi, said that she believes cryptocurrencies and blockchain are now being treated more rationally: "Fortunately, the crypto fever has begun to diminish. Technologies such as blockchain have inspired great enthusiasm, but now, as far as we can see, the approach to them is more sober." The central bank head also noted that entrepreneurs are now seeking ways to implement …

A Russian intellectual property startup has signed a memorandum with officials from Uzbek capital Tashkent to integrate blockchain for use in copyright, Russian state news agency TASS reports Tuesday, Oct. 16. The president of the Russian National Intellectual Property Transactions Coordination Center (IPChain), Andrey Krichevsky, met the head of Tashkent's department of innovations Jasur Zakhidov during the Open Innovations Forum in Moscow. Both parties agreed to implement decentralized solutions to protect copyrights in different areas, such as intellectual property and patent records. Zakhidov further explained that blockchain could help develop the whole copyright sphere and make it profitable, noting that …

A 21-year-old Russian from the Siberian city of Kurgan is facing criminal charges for illegally mining Bitcoins (BTC) via government-owned servers, local news agency Ura.Ru reports Tuesday, October 16, citing the regional office of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB). The investigation found that the man hacked public administration servers in three Russian regions. The breach was discovered when the Internal Security Division in the city of Yaroslavl noticed the intruder’s attempt to hack their equipment. The alleged hacker was then charged with deliberate use of software that “neutralizes” a computer’s network defense “out of self-interest.” Under this article he could …

Encrypted messenger service Telegram will release a test version of its blockchain-based TON platform “this autumn,” Russian media outlet Vedomosti reports Tuesday, Oct. 16. Speaking to the publication, investors “confirmed” the authenticity of a circular sent to participants in TON’s Initial Coin Offering (ICO) at the start of September. In the circular, the company said that the platform’s blockchain component was currently under development, with “70 percent” of the product already finished, the publication claims. Once in operation, TON will also make use of its in-house cryptocurrency, Gram, and will form a “new way of exchanging data.” Telegram attracted considerable …