Fintech

Russian mobile major MTS acquires blockchain trade finance platform

August 3, 2021

MTS, a leading mobile operator and provider of digital services and content, has acquired a 51% stake in blockchain-based trade finance platform Factorin.  The two year-old company touts itself as “the biggest factoring platform in Russia andone of the leading B2B blockchain systems for trade finance in the world.”  Founded by Andrei Maklin with support from venture builder Digital Horizon — …

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Zerion secures $8.2 million to make decentralized finance accessible to all

July 14, 2021

Last week Zerion, a Californian decentralized finance (DeFi) startup with Russian and Ukrainian founders, announced the completion of a $8.2 million round. Led by Mosaic Ventures, the deal also involved Placeholder, DCG, Lightspeed, Blockchain.com Ventures and other organizations — as well as a dozen of individual investors from the crypto community.  Zerion touts its investing app as “the simplest way to track and manage …

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Crypto cyberthreats spike this year with Russia hit the hardest, report reveals

June 28, 2021

Threats related to cryptocurrencies have increased alongside rising crypto prices over the past few months, shows a recent report by ESET. The Russian Federation is the country that has suffered the most from cyber threats related to cryptocurrencies this year, accounting for 8.9% of all attacks. G7 leaders recently called on the government in Moscow to identify …

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Russian oligarch Deripaska blasts Bank of Russia for ignoring Bitcoin

June 19, 2021

Russian industrial tycoon Oleg Deripaska is the latest figure to criticize the Bank of Russia’s stance on cryptocurrency regulation in the country. Deripaska took to his official Telegram channel on Thursday to blast the Russian central bank for pressuring the crypto industry to avoid getting involved into cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. The Russian oligarch pointed out …

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Moscow-based TalkBank raises $3 million to develop “bank in messengers”

June 18, 2021

A Russian neobank called TalkBank has neither physical branches, nor call centers, nor even a mobile app. Its principle consists in offering “a bank in messengers,” i.e. Telegram, Facebook, WhatsApp or Viber. “Digital financial assistance” is provided by a smart bot that “understands banking commands in natural language.”  Thus customers will be able to better plan their budget and …

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Russia may be cut off from SWIFT as part of West’s “spiral of sanctions,” warns foreign ministry

June 7, 2021

Russian banks may be blocked from using SWIFT, a payment system that enables reliable and secure financial transactions, as part of restrictions against Moscow, in what one official has called a potential “spiral of sanctions.” “It’s no secret that there are threats, primarily from the United States, to disconnect Russia from the SWIFT system,” said Dmitry …

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Sber and VTB CEOs blast Bitcoin

June 9, 2021

Sber and VTB, two leading, state-controlled financial institutions in Russia, are not willing to move into the cryptocurrency market in the near future as their CEOs believe that crypto is either too risky or fake money. Sber CEO Herman Gref said that cryptocurrencies like bitcoin are probably the riskiest type of investment alongside the equity …

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Russia’s top digital bank wants to offer crypto — but tough central bank policy stands in its way

June 19, 2021

Tinkoff, the biggest online bank in Russia, wants to offer cryptocurrency trading to its clients but says this will take time due to a tough stance from the country’s central bank. Oliver Hughes, Tinkoff’s CEO, said Thursday that “qualified investors who know what they’re doing” want to invest in crypto. “There’s no mechanism for us …

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Yandex and Tinkoff announce fintech acquisitions

April 30, 2021

Two acquisitions were announced yesterday in the Russian fintech space. Yandex, the NASDAQ-listed digital major, agreed to fully purchase Acropol Bank. The deal, which is still subject to regulatory approval, amounts to 1.1 billion rubles (approximately $14.7 million).  “The strategic rationale for the transaction is to obtain a banking license required to develop the Yandex fintech vertical and launch comprehensive …

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Sber could issue blockchain-based digital currency as early as this year

April 28, 2021

Sber, the state-controlled financial and tech giant, could issue its own digital financial asset, ‘Sbercoin,’ as early as this year. The registration of an in-house blockchain platform, developed for this purpose, is pending final approvals from the regulator. Sber’s blockchain platform will be made available not only to the bank, but also to other companies …

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Should Russian banks be scared of SWIFT disconnection?

April 30, 2021

In a meeting with EU foreign ministers, Ukraine’s top diplomat Dmytro Kuleba joined the chorus of voices calling for Russia to be disconnected from SWIFT — the financial messaging network that underpins the global banking system. The proposal — long popular among those who favor slapping hard-hitting sanctions on Russia — has picked up new …

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