Russia

As the war in Ukraine rages on, Russia is facing crippling sanctions. The Ukrainian government wants these sanctions to extend to crypto. Ukraine is calling the largest crypto exchange to block all crypto addresses in Russia and Belarus. Moreover, they want to freeze the assets of both politicians and citizens. Ukraine's Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov called for the unprecedented move. It's crucial to freeze not only the addresses linked to Russian and Belarusian politicians,…

With Russia’s invasion of Ukraine underway, crypto users have risen up to help the nation defend against its hostile neighbor. The Ukrainian military has reportedly raised $4 million in crypto through NGOs and volunteer groups since the attack began. International Crypto Crowdfunding According to live data from Elliptic – a blockchain analytics firm – crypto donations to Ukrainian NGO’s have “soared” since the beginning of the invasion. Hovering near-zero earlier this month, donations rose above $500,000 on February 24th, and…

Crypto markets crashed 10%, together with the stock market, as Russian forces started military operations against Ukraine.  Bitcoin fell to a one-month low as the crypto markets reacted to geopolitical instability. The biggest crypto traded at $35,300, down 9% from $39,000. Ethereum dropped even more, by 12.5% to $2,373. All major cryptos were in the red, posting 24-hour losses from 8% to 20%. Among the biggest losers were Cardano, Doge, Polkadot and Shib, all down 17%. Crypto markets followed a…

While many of the most bullish crypto investors have adopted the term “digital assets,” Russia isn’t shying away from the industry’s origins. Authorities have recently agreed to recognize cryptocurrencies as “currencies straightforwardly”. That said, it will regulate these cryptos in a rigorous manner intended to weed out criminal activity in the space. Why Russia? The regulatory decision may come as a surprise to outsiders. El Salvador is the only country to recognize Bitcoin as a national “currency” to date. Even…

Atomyze is the first blockchain platform to receive a license to trade digital assets in Russia. The news of Atomyze’s license approval comes exactly a year after the platform applied alongside several other institutions. The license transforms Atomyze into the first officially registered fintech firm with the Bank of Russia. This also implies that the blockchain platform will legally issue tokens while offering digital wallet services to Russian customers. Atomyze employs decentralized technology to tokenize tangible assets. In this case,…

Key Russian financial authorities have radically different views on crypto regulation. On Wednesday, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov voiced his opposition to the Bank of Russia's harsh stance on crypto. In a letter to Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, said that the country should regulate, rather than ban cryptos. He also said that crypto regulation would bring in an additional $2.3 billion in taxes to Russia. To make regulation more effective, he suggested allowing banks to provide exchange services. This would allow licensed…

The position of the Russian regulator has become increasingly restrictive towards cryptocurrencies in 2021. By the start of 2022, we have received several reports of further legislative moves that Moscow is allegedly studying. The positions on the issue in the country are different, and, to date, the direction of the policymakers is unclear. In this article, we provide an overview of the situation, reporting the opinion of several prominent people on this topic. An evolving situation At the moment, in…

Vladimir Putin isn’t as hawkish on cryptocurrencies as his nation’s Central Bank authorities. The Russian president recently stated that Bitcoin mining could be “advantageous” to Russia, casting doubt on any ban-like approaches to the sector. Internal Division Putin aired his thoughts on the matter in a government meeting on Wednesday. He began the discussion by addressing the regulation of cryptocurrencies, which he called an “issue in the spotlight”. “We have certain competitive advantages here, especially in the so-called mining,” he…

The Russian Central Bank is seeking to ban crypto investments. Reports say that Russian monetary authorities are concerned with a growing number of crypto transactions. Namely, they see these transactions as a risk for economic stability. Moreover, authorities are concerned with the supposed use of crypto in money laundering. For years, Russian authorities spoke out against crypto. The central bank spoke about the risk of its use for money laundering and terrorism. In 2020, Russia gave crypto legal status but banned…