Bank of Russia Begins Blockchain Studies; Rumors of Future State-Run BitRuble Persist
The Bank of Russia has begun studies of Bitcoin’s blockchain technology for potential future use. This has led to rumors that Russia has decided to begin work on a new national digital currency, the BitRuble, that will be managed and overseen by the state central banking system, according to late evening reports out of El Mundo in Spain. As Coin Telegraph reported earlier this week, Qiwi was planning on building a privately-run crypto-currency for the Russian market. This was met with a very negative response by the Russian Ombudsman, Pavel Medvedev. Yesterday, Deputy Chairman of the Bank....
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A new blockchain-based digital currency called project BitRuble is expected to launch in early 2016 sais Sergey Solonin. Russian payment service provider Qiwi has reportedly invested “several hundred million rubles” to develop the first cryptocurrency designed for the Russian market. Qiwi’s General Director Sergey Solonin stated: Blockchain technology will serve as the basis for the BitRuble. However, the fate of this currency might solely depend on whether Russia’s Central Bank and the government will give the project the green light according to CEO and co-owner of Qiwi, Sergei Solonin.....
Payment service provider and future BitRuble issuer Qiwi are launching a series of blockchain focused master classes called “Promising Distribution,” which in partnership with the Laboratory of High School of Economics in Russia (HSE.Lab), could help the Russian government better understand Bitcoin’s underlying technology and its potential. The High School of Economics is renowned for to its academic supervisor Yevgeny Yasin, Russia’s former Economics Minister, and Alexander Shokhin, former Deputy Chairman of the Russian Government, and one of the leaders of the ruling party “Edinaya....
On Thursday, the Russian Ministry of Finance proposed to introduce imprisonment for issuing and using “money substitutes”, such as Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. One of the currencies that seemingly falls under the suggested legislation is BitRuble, a project by the Russian payment processor Qiwi. BitRuble to be launched in 2016. However, as Qiwi’s Head of Cryptotech Development, Aleksey Arkhipov, said, the BitRuble team isn’t planning to go to prison any time soon: According to Arkhipov, Qiwi plans to launch BitRuble before the end of this year, however several crucial questions....
Cryptocurrencies are anonymous and the government shouldn’t encourage their spread, the head of Bank of Russia has insisted. The regulator remains firmly opposed to the legalization of bitcoin and the like as a means of payment in the Russian Federation. Bank of Russia Reiterates Negative Stance on Cryptocurrencies, Legalization of Bitcoin A “responsible state” should not stimulate the proliferation of cryptocurrencies, according to Elvira Nabiullina, chair of the Central Bank of Russia (CBR). The head of the monetary authority made the declaration in the lower house....
A Russian payments firm is pushing ahead with a plan to release its own cryptocurrency, reportedly submitting an application to register a trademark for the initiative. According to Russian news agency Interfax, Qiwi is seeking to trademark the term "Bitruble". An application has been sent to the Federal Service for Intellectual Property. The filing follows the company's move to acquire domain name space related to the term "bitruble", as reported by Kommersant earlier this month. Qiwi has also indicated that the cryptocurrency could be backed by some form of commodity. The proposal drew....