The CEO of Russia’s largest state bank Sberbank, Herman Gref said he could not yet foresee governments “yielding their centralized role” in fiat currency creation as part of his comments on cryptocurrency. Speaking to reporters during the Astana Finance Days international conference in the Kazakhstan capital July 4, Sberbank’s Herman Gref repeated the comments he has made “many times” about cryptoassets’ future role in the economy. “Do I see a prospect of global use of cryptocurrencies as an alternative to fiat money? I don’t see it and I said it many times,” he said. “I don’t think that the state …

On June 30, Russia saw a launch of a first crypto investment bank aimed to hold initial coins offerings (ICO), while the government is is expected to pass its major crypto and blockchain-related regulatory bill this week. Meanwhile, there’s been more news coming from Eastern Europe: last week, Poland’s cryptocurrency group the Polish Bitcoin Association (PBS) complained to the government, blaming fifteen financial institutions in the country for hindering the industry by deliberately denying service to crypto platforms and selectively closing their bank accounts. To navigate through the complexities surrounding crypto regulation in the region, here’s a guide covering the …

Qiwi Blockchain Teсhnologies (QBT) has launched a crypto investment dubbed “HASH,” local news outlet Kommersant reports June 29. QBT is a subsidiary of Russia’s leading payment service provider Qiwi. HASH, built on a “classic investment banking model” according to Kommersant, will provide a platform for initial coins offerings (ICO). Yakov Barinsky, QBT’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO), explained that HASH would “assist companies to go through the fundraising stage.” As per Kommersant, HASH plans to cooperate international funds that specialize in crypto asset investing. According to Barinsky, the company already works with ten such funds with the largest one having a …

A state university in Russia has announced that it will store diploma records using blockchain technology, the institution announced in an official statement June 26. According to the statement and a tweet from the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation, the institution has recorded “all diplomas issued over the past ten years” using distributed ledger technology. The reported goal of the move is so that starting September 2018, potential employers will be able to check the authenticity of any digital diplomas on the university’s website. According to the statement, all diplomas have acquired unique identificators encrypted with …

Given the apparent sensitivity of cryptocurrency markets to regulatory and political developments, it stands to reason that the world's leaders — and what they think about crypto — will be vitally important in determining the direction the cryptocurrency market will travel in the future. Many leaders have been willing to sit back over the past few months and let crypto develop — more or less — organically, yet it's becoming apparent that the time for official action is drawing increasingly near, at which point Bitcoin, et al. will either bear the brunt of government 'crackdowns' or will benefit from favorable …

Major sporting events always attract a massive amount of attention across the world and it is encouraging to see cryptocurrencies being integrated into the many aspects of the event. We’ve seen this happen at the Super Bowl and the Winter Olympics in the past six months, so it’s not surprising that Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies are becoming far easier to use in the many industries involved in these major events — from hospitality to gambling. Football Every four years the global sporting community feasts on a festival of football at the World Cup, as the world’s most popular sport takes centre …

Two of Russia’s largest banks are testing cryptocurrency-based investment options for retail investors, local news media out Kommersant reported June 15. As part of the Russian central bank’s ‘regulatory sandbox,’ Sberbank and Alfa-Bank opted to begin experimenting with products based on so-called “digital financial assets” at a meeting last Wednesday, according to the publication. Those assets will in fact take the form of six cryptocurrencies – including Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum and Litecoin – which will form an investment portfolio. The move comes as Russia prepares to enact binding laws governing cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology, which will see crypto become …

Top Stories This Week Fundstrat’s Tom Lee Points To Bitcoin Futures As Reason For Price Declines Tom Lee released a report this week that posited that the reason for the falling price of Bitcoin can be linked to the expiration of Bitcoin futures contracts. According to Lee, Bitcoin’s price usually drops around 10 days before the expiration of the futures contract, but then rises again about 6 days after it expires. German Government Doesn’t Think Bitcoin Threatens Financial Stability Officials from Germany’s federal government do not believe that Bitcoin poses a threat to the existing financial structure, as the volume …

Multiple Russian corporate giants, including state-owned Gazprombank, have created a joint venture that plans to develop projects in blockchain and the digital economy, local news outlet TASS reported June 9. Russian telecom company MegaFon, Gazprombank, government corporation Rostec, and the USM Group have created a joint venture – referred to as MF Technologies (MFT) – that is worth $450 mln and has a 59 percent stake in Russian Internet giant mail.ru. The initiative plans to focus on developing digital financial solutions via Gazprombank resources. According to TASS, MegaFon stated that MFT will: “allow partners to maximally effectively implement comprehensive, innovative …

The Moscow Exchange (MOEX) is preparing infrastructure that will allow companies to conduct initial coin offerings (ICOs), which it expects to launch this year, Reuters reported June 8. The exchange is reportedly working on the development of basic infrastructure for companies to participate in ICOs and publish token sale data. According to Moscow Exchange CEO Alexander Afanasiev, the exchange will not list tokens, but provide information about the responsibilities of token issuers, in addition to descriptions of certain tokens and ICOs to investors. He added: “Right now we’re looking at this from the point of view of fiat currencies, because …

A report from Russian Analytic Credit Rating Agency (ARCA) released Thursday, June 7, states that cryptocurrency is not yet usable as a means of payment. According to ARCA, cryptocurrency “does not currently fully perform any of the functions of money” as the exchange rate volatility is too high -- comparable with the volatility of food prices -- to allow it to be efficient as payment. The report also notes that the use of crypto “does not yet reduce transaction costs in the economy” due to its “energy inefficiency [...] lack of economies of scale in the provision of cybersecurity [and] …

Russian President Vladimir Putin issued ambiguous, but mostly negative, commentary on the question of Russian issuing its own cryptocurrency during his annual live question and answer session with the Russian public today, June 7. On today’s live session with the president, known as the “Direct Line”, Russian blogger Artem Khokholikov asked the president three questions about cryptocurrency: “Will Russia have its own cryptocurrency? [...] Will it be controlled by the government? [...] Do you think that in the near future cryptocurrency will completely replace our regular, standard money?” Putin answered by first explaining that Russia cannot have its own cryptocurrency, …