Moscow Credit Bank issues on-chain guarantee in Chinese yuan

Chinese Yuan

Moscow Credit Bank, a commercial Russian bank, has issued the country’s first blockchain-based guarantee to use Chinese yuan as currency.

The transaction was made using Russia’s national blockchain network, Masterchain, which is built to transfer digital assets between the country’s institutions. The guarantee was for more than 100 million yuan (£12m).

In a statement from Moscow Credit Bank (MCB), it said: The advantage of a digital bank guarantee is that the...

3 March 2023 | Banking

Russian Sberbank integrates blockchain with MetaMask

Fox - MetaMask / ConsenSys

Russia’s largest bank Sberbank has given its blockchain platform access to the Ethereum blockchain through an integration with software wallet MetaMask.

The bank’s proprietary blockchain platform is now compatible with Ethereum applications and smart contracts, meaning developers can work interchangeably between either network.

Sber Blockchain Lab, the bank’s web3 arm, has also announced a MetaMask integration to further support interoperability between the...

2 December 2022 | Banking

Putin argues for blockchain-based international payments system

Putin - cryptocurrencies

Russian President Vladimir Putin has criticised the dependency on large banks and third parties in the global financial payments system, calling instead for an independent settlements system using blockchain.

The Russian leader made these attacks during a speaking arrangement at the International AI Journey Conference in Moscow on 24 November

During the event, which was organised by Russia’s largest bank and major government lender Sberbank, Putin...

28 November 2022 | Legislation & Government

Bank of Russia report calls for total crypto ban

Russian Money (Ruble)

The Bank of Russia has called for a ban on all cryptocurrency-related activity, including trading, mining and usage.

The stance comes off the back of a report, “Cryptocurrencies: trends, risks, measures”, presented on January 20, 2022, at an online press conference.

Elizaveta Danilova, the director of the Bank of Russia’s Financial Stability Department, drew attention to the report’s claim that cryptocurrencies are volatile and widely used for illegal...

20 January 2022 | Cryptocurrency