Fintech

TON, Pavel Durov’s blockchain platform, prepares for launch in 10 countries

January 28, 2019

Telegram Open Network (TON), Pavel Durov’s darknet blockchain platform, and its cryptocurrency Gram, could be launched publicly as soon as March 2019 – a bit later than initially planned – according to Russian tech publication The Bell. Another Russian tech media, Kod Durova (‘Durov’s code’) puts the launch date at the second quarter of this year. Meanwhile, a …

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Cryptocurrency mining with Siberian babushkas

January 22, 2019

A residential block of red bricks stretches unambitiously under the freezing sky of Irkutsk, Siberia. Inside, a series of small bitcoin mining machines are running on cheap electricity, as grandmother Valeriya’s family of domestic miners, a bullish bunch, stack up a potential fortune for the future. The granny, only identified as Valeriya, has never looked …

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“No reason to bury cryptocurrencies,” says Russian PM, but rumor of massive purchase of bitcoin unfounded

January 18, 2019

Government officials made contrasted statements on cryptocurrencies earlier this week at the Gaidar Forum, a yearly conference and elite gathering sometimes dubbed ‘the Russian Davos.’ Thus, Vice Prime Minister Maxim Akimov did not hide his skepticism about digital coins “as currencies,” while Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said that their volatility was “not a reason to …

“No reason to bury cryptocurrencies,” says Russian PM, but rumor of massive purchase of bitcoin unfounded Read More

Cryptocurrency exchanges eye Russia for expansion despite sanctions

January 14, 2019

Sanctions imposed by governments as part of geopolitical struggles do not always filter through to under-regulated industries. Ambitious businesses covet every opportunity for expansion and diversification. In addition, according to a recent report, interest toward cryptocurrencies has remained relatively stable in spite of the bitcoin’s fall. These seem to be among the reasons why a …

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In Russian supermarkets, consumers can settle purchases with their fingerprint

January 16, 2019

In what could be a world’s first, Azbuka Vkusa, a major grocery chain with more than 170 outlets across Russia, and its partner Sberbank, the state-owned banking giant, have launched what they call a “perfect fingerprint payment service.” The service is not entirely new: so far, the chain’s customers could use fingerprints to pay from …

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Russian VC firm FinSight puts $25 million in Indian startup fund

January 9, 2019

Last month FinSight Ventures, a Californian VC firm belonging to leading Russian financial group FINAM, announced an investment in Indian startup fund Emphasis Ventures (EMVC). The investment amounted to $25 million, reported Russky Venture, an influential Telegram channel. “The partnership enables FinSight to have access to leading startups in rapidly growing and evolving Indian market as …

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While bitcoin price fell, Russians kept interest towards cryptocurrencies throughout 2018

January 12, 2019

Interest towards cryptocurrencies in Russia remained relatively stable throughout 2018, despite the significant drop in their prices. Ruble-denominated trade on Localbitcoins, for example, has shown a generally positive trend since last spring. In the past year, Russians also saw a growing number of other options to purchase digital coins. Transaction volumes on P2P exchanges such …

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Eurasian Economic Union considers launching digital currency in response to Western sanctions

December 28, 2018

The member states of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) – Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Russia – are considering creating a digital currency in 2020 or 2021, the Russian deputy finance minister Alexei Moiseev stated last week. Such a move is “inevitable,” the TASS news agency quoted Moiseev as saying, because of increasing difficulties in trade and …

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Huawei Pay launches in Russia, second country after China

December 27, 2018

After similar moves by Apple, Samsung  and Google in 2016-17 and WeChat just weeks ago, Huawei announced last week the launch of its contactless payment service in Russia. Huawei Pay defines itself as “a mobile payment and digital wallet service that digitizes and can replace a credit or debit card” at contactless-capable payment terminals. The service is accessible only via …

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Ozon launches user-to-supplier loan platform

July 13, 2019

Ozon.ru, a leading Russian online retailer, is testing a service that will allow customers to grant loans to small and medium businesses among Ozon’s 2,000+ suppliers. The new service, dubbed ‘Ozon.Invest,’ was presented on December 21. It will start operating “in the beginning of 2019,” according to its website. As reported by the business daily …

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Russian parliament postpones adoption of digital assets bill

December 23, 2018

The State Duma, the lower house of Russia’s parliament, has postponed the second reading of a long-awaited bill intended to regulate to regulate digital financial assets, including cryptocurrencies, and ICOs. Lawmakers will review the draft law “On Digital Financial Assets” during the spring parliamentary session next year, the house deputy speaker Sergey Neverov announced. In …

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How Sberbank has transformed itself from ‘babushka bank’ to digital banking giant

December 21, 2018

In this op-ed Anna Kuzmina, a figure of the Russian payment industry, highlights the importance of Sberbank in Russians’ everyday life, and the implications of this bank’s digital transformation. Mrs Kuzmina is Deputy Chief Commercial Officer at Yandex.Money, a joint venture of Sberbank and Yandex.  In just a few years Sberbank, Russia’s state-controlled banking giant, has …

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