Tag Archives: russia

The Bank of Russia and the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation (MiFin) have agreed that crypto mining should be allowed only in certain areas. According to a new report by RBC-Crypto, Russian officials are preparing to legalize mining activity only in energy-rich regions and aim to ban the niche in energy-scarce ones. The legislation should be adopted by the end of this year. Energy-Extensive Areas Only Reiterating the authorities’ stance, Chairman of the...

Former NSA contractor and famous whistle-blower Edward Snowden was granted Russian citizenship by President Vladimir, as reported by the state-run news agency TASS on Monday.  His name was included on a list of 71 other foreigners who also became citizens.  Snowden applied for citizenship alongside his wife in 2020 after receiving permanent residency rights, citing a desire not to be separated from his sons.  “After two years of waiting and nearly ten years of exile, a...

Russia’s central bank and Ministry of Finance have agreed on legislation to enable cross-border payments using cryptocurrency, according to a report from the Russian outlet Kommersant on Wednesday. The policy change is reportedly intended to let Russian nationals access digital wallets.  Taking Advantage of Blockchain According to Russian Deputy Finance Minister Alexei Moiseev, the bill has already been agreed to by the central bank “on the whole.” “It generally describes how...

The United States Treasury Department added five cryptocurrency addresses to its sanctions blacklist. All wallets are connected to the Russian neo-Nazi paramilitary group – Task Force Rusich – that has participated in the Ukraine war. Prior to that, the Department sanctioned the Ethereum-based cryptocurrency mixer – Tornado Cash – and Blender.io (a software tied to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea). Weakening Russia’s Forces The US Treasury Department announced it...

The leading global accounting firm – KPMG International – claimed in one of its recent reports that the cryptocurrency market has displayed growing maturity in the past several months. This comes despite the ongoing military conflict between Russia and Ukraine and the record inflation that spreads in some countries. It is also worth noting that most digital assets trade far below their all-time high levels from 2021, but that has not stopped investments in the space....

In a rather swift departure from its prewar crypto stance, the Bank of Russia is weighing in on the possibility of legalizing crypto for facilitating cross-border payments in the near future. As local news agency TASS reported, the country’s central bank and the Ministry of Finance have agreed that “it is impossible to do without cross-border settlements in cryptocurrency” under the current geopolitical conditions. Deputy Finance Minister Alexei Moiseev said crypto payments...

The United Kingdom’s Office of Financial Sanction Implementation (OFSI) has included “cryptoassets” in a list of assets that must be frozen if they belong to a person or company who is facing sanctions. These developments come as the list of sanctioned Russian entities continue to increase. Eye on Sanctioned Accounts, Breaches As per the new rules, crypto exchanges will face criminal charges if they “fail to report clients designated for sanctions.” The exchanges must...

Tornado Cash was added to the US sanctions list by the Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC) on August 8. Two days later, Alexey Pertsev, a coder tied to the crypto mixing service, was arrested by Dutch authorities. The blacklisting and the subsequent events sparked an outcry from privacy proponents, with many protesting and engaging in acts of civil disobedience. But according to intelligence firm, Kharon, Pertsev was formerly employed by a company linked to Russia’s...

Accused crypto money launderer Denis Mihaqlovic Dubnikov has been extradited to the United States from the Netherlands to face charges in the District of Oregon. The US Department of Justice (DOJ) said Dubnikov was charged by a federal grand jury in Portland for his alleged role in an international crypto money laundering conspiracy last August. According to the official press release, the indictment stated that the 29-year-old Russian citizen and his accomplices had full...

The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) believes the impact of cryptocurrencies should be limited in developing nations. According to the agency, digital assets are unstable financial products that could cause further issues to already shattered economies. Amid the global monetary crisis, numerous residents of emerging countries chose to convert their depreciating fiat currencies into stablecoins. However, the UNCTAD warned that such tokens also pose...