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Greece Council of State Rules for the Extradition of a Russian Bitcoin Laundering Suspect to France

Greece Council of State has ruled in favor of the order to extradite a Russian bitcoin laundering suspect named Alexander Vinnik, as known as “Mr. Bitcoin” to France, as reported by Greece Greek Reporter.

The Council’s ruling means that Vinnik’s extradition to France can now proceed without any further delay as he is seriously being sought by the authorities of three different countries which include: the United States, France, and Russia.

The report stated that Vinnik was arrested in northern Greece in July of 2017. It then noted that the authorities of the countries mentioned above have been after him and have in their different capacities issued international arrest warrants for him. The countries have charged him of using an e-currency platform he established up for money laundering activities.

Justice Minister Constantinos Tsiaras has previously ordered that Vinnik being extradited to the three countries he was accused of bitcoin laundering, starting with France, then to the United States and lastly to Russia. However, Vinnik filed a request to Greece Council of State, the country’s supreme administrative court, seeking that the court should annul the order of his extradition. Against Vinnik’s wish, the supreme court supported the order of Tsiaras, insisting that the minister has the full legal authority to outline the order of the countries to which the suspect will be extradited.

According to the press release, judge Athanasios Rantos, The Plenary of the Council of State, presided over by, considered that the Minister of Justice had wide discretion in ruling whether or not to order the extradition of the suspect.

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Russia Finally Showing Signs of Embracing Digital Assets in New Bill

After successfully undergoing test period, tokenization is set to take center stage with reforms as newly proposed cryptocurrency legislation in Russia received the green light.

News has been making the roundsfrom the Central Bank of Russia on Feb. 17 as regards the finalization of a blockchaintokenization test drive with the use of platform developed by Nornickel within its regulatory sandbox. Subsequently, this has seen a proposal from the bank to modify the nation’s digital assets law to accommodate platform tokenizations.

The platform is available for use to all organizations and gives access to them to issue hybrid tokens backed by a pack of assets. The developed technology is expected to expand the scope of financing possibilities for businesses while providing new investment opportunities for its users.

Ivan Zimin, who leads CBR’s fintech division, commented that it was one of the most significant projects backed by the sandbox. Showing clear excitement about the potentials of being able to issue hybrid tokens, He believed that they could swiftly adapt to requirements from businesses and users.

Zimin commended the platforms stating that its tremendous success has seen a request by the bank to amend regulations. He also spoke on regulatory amendments, saying that, “following the results of the pilot program, the Central Bank of Russia proposed amendments for the federal bill project ‘On digital financial assets’ that are required to integrate and develop these solutions on the growing digital asset market.”

Nornickel, one of the largest mining companies in the world, was credited with the success of developing the platform. Also worth noting is the corporation’s penchants for the development of top platforms as it is responsible for initially developing the platform to tokenize palladium, with the testing phase of the digital assets trading platform commencing Dec. 19, 2019.

As previously reported by Blockchain.News, prior to this time we have seen Russia making moves to set up a better regulatory framework around cryptocurrency, we could say that the disposition of the Russian government towards cryptocurrencies remains unclear with several ministries and the central bank is alleged to be working towards agreeing to a ban on cryptocurrency. It is quite surprising to see the latest landmark being achieved.

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Blockchain Platform Owned by Russia’s Richest Man Gets Greenlight to Tokenize Air Tickets

Vladimir Potanin, arguably the richest man in Russia, has been granted permission to offer digital tokens to book air tickets, purchase metals, and transfer ski passes using his blockchain platform, Atomyze. As reported by Bloomberg on Feb. 25, the much-needed go-aheadwas given by the nation’s central bank last week based on Potanin’s urge to tokenize commodities from a consumer perspective.

Atomyze to revamp commerce

One of the primary objectives of the blockchain platform is to transform the interaction between companies and customers. Atomyze, therefore, seeks to minimize paperwork and hasten transactions.

By leveraging on distributed ledger technology (DLT), the commodities industry strives to digitize trading systems as this will guarantee reduced costs and supervision based on the optimal traceability of materials.

Potanin has been optimistic about crypto tokens as he noted that they might ultimately account for a fifth of sales made by MMC Norilsk Nickel PJSC, the globe’s largest palladium, and refined nickel producer. He, therefore, feels that they could significantly impact metals, but can be extended to other services, such as transferring ski passes and booking air tickets.

Nevertheless, Atomyze will have to get approval from the central bank to extend its scope, especially to service-oriented companies. The blockchain platform will aid the processing of individuals’ money transactions through a state-owned bank called Russian Lender Sberbank PJSC.

Russia ripe for new blockchain projects

It is speculated that Atomyze may be the stepping stone in the Russian blockchain market as it may prompt other companies to seek approval for similar projects. Potanin acknowledged that the Russian central bank took nearly four months testing Atomyze for it to be given the green light. He added, “Our project is of great importance for the economy because the easier new products are offered, the faster they are produced.”

Last week Blockchain.News revealed that tokenization was set to take center stage in the Russian market after it successfully underwent a test period as reforms for newly proposed cryptocurrency legislation got thumbs up. With Atomyze breaking ground, it seems the Russian crypto space has reached a new lease of life.

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Is Bitcoin still a Safe Haven? The Crypto Community Debates on Twitter Following Global Stock Market Crash

Bitcoin’s status as a safe-haven asset has been under intense scrutiny as the BTC price continues to fall amidst a series of crisis events in 2020 which have continued to create the ideal environment for the digital commodity to theoretically thrive. Beginning with the Iranian – US conflict in early Jan, the coronavirus outbreak triggering a cut in interest rates by the Federal Reserve, and now the plummeting oil price following disagreement in Vienna between Russia and the OPEC nations, by now surely Bitcoin’s price should be climbing due to its hypothetical ability to act as a non-correlating market hedge asset?

Markets worldwide have been gripped by growing fears over recent weeks as the coronavirus disruption ground manufacturing in China to a halt causing bearish global ripple effects and decreasing demand for oil. Last night, a break down in the alliance between Russia and the OPEC appears to be presenting as the straw that may break the proverbial camel’s back as oil prices took their biggest dive in 30 years.

The combination of the breakdown between Russia and OPEC and the already anxious coronavirus fueled environment has now facilitated the biggest decline in the stock market since the global financial crisis of 2009.

The biggest stock market drop since 2009

Stock Market Indices

% Fell

S&P 500

Dow Jones Industrial Average

6.9%

Nasdaq Composite

5.4%

UK FTSE

7.7%

Hang Seng Index

4.2%

ASX 200

7.3%

China’s Shanghai Composite

Japan Nikkei 225

5.1%

According to a report from CNN on March 9, the New York Stock Exchange halted trading for 15 minutes after stocks plunged more than 7% and the yield on the 10-year Treasury note also hit a record low falling below 0.5%.

President Trump Reacts

The sell-off panic began after Saudi Arabia unexpectedly launched a price war, slashing its own oil prices, in an attempt to retake the global market share. The sudden move by Saudi Arabia followed last Friday’s refusal by Russia to go along with the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries’ (OPEC) efforts to rescue the oil market from the drop in demand caused by the coronavirus outbreak.

President Donald Trump was among the first to chime in via his favourite social media platform, Twitter. The President acknowledged the disagreement between the Kingdom and Russia as the catalyst but also pointed fingers at the sensational or as he would say “fake” news.

Bitcoin’s Reaction

Despite a belief by investors that Bitcoin could serve as a tool against currency depreciation, the price of the cryptocurrency has also dipped over 13% since the failure by OPEC and Russia to reach a resolution. In a recent interview with CEX.IO Founder Oleksandr Lutskevych, he confirmed that US investors have been acquiring Bitcoin to hedge against the Federal Reserve’s quantitative easing and UK investors have also been relying on it as a bona fide store of value against Brexit fears.

Source: CoinMarketCap

In an article by Coindesk on March 9, Matt Smith, Director of Commodity Research, ClipperData described Saudi Arabia’s move as drastic and the kingdom’s attempts to bring the Russians back to the table has hurt economies everywhere.

The oil market is currently oversaturated and Smith believes it will be difficult for nations to reconfigure their supply chains to properly address the imbalance.

As Bitcoin has fallen with the traditional markets, Smith believes there is currently no serious interest in Bitcoin as a market alternative. He dismissed Bitcoin’s assumed safe haven status saying, “In times of crisis, all markets correlate.”

Crypto Market Twitter Reactions

Never one to miss out on an opportunity to kick the decentralized currency when it is down, economist Peter Schiff openly mocked the community for their belief that Bitcoin would moon in times of crisis. “The news couldn’t be more bullish. Yet the price action couldn’t be more bearish.” Schiff appears to still be licking his wounds from the onslaught of mockery he received when the price of gold, of which he is a super-advocate, fell immediately following the Federal Reserve’s rate cut of half a percentage point.

Schiff immediately received some push back from twitter users on his feed and offered the following explanation.

CEO of Coinbase, Brian Armstrong who only days ago openly pondered the fate of Bitcoin while drawing comparisons to the rise and adoption of the internet, seemed perplexed by the bearish movement saying he, “expected the opposite.”

Less Volatile than Traditional Stocks

American Bitcoin investor and influential figure in the space Anthony “Pomp” Pompliano, shared a different perspective, highlighting that the stock market had acted with a much higher rate of volatility than BTC.

Jimmy Song, one of the core developers in Bitcoin, reiterated Pompliano’s sentiments and also tweeted regarding Bitcoin’s low volatility considering the extreme stock market reaction.

Samson Mow of Blockstream also lent his voice to the cause. He outlined that Bitcoin was actually doing incredibly well in the crisis climate for a “ decentralized apolitical supernational asset” that was worth nothing a decade ago. He even directed his follower’s to a thread explaining why you should continue to buy Bitcoin.

At this point, it would be reasonable to wait and see what happens with Bitcoin. While the news seems dire to some analysts, a drop in 13% for bitcoin could almost be considered business as usual in terms of its usual volatility. The reality is that while it has fallen along with traditional stocks, the damage to the decentralized asset is not nearly as severe which for now leaves Bitcoin’s safe-haven status pending as we wait for more information to reveal itself over the coming weeks.

Russia’s Central Bank Will Ban Crypto Issuance and Trading in Upcoming “Digital Financial Assets” Bill

The head of the legal department at Bank of Russia, Alexey Guznov, revealed that the coming bill on “Digital Financial Assets” will ban the circulation and issuance of cryptocurrencies. He stated that Russia’s central bank does not believe that crypto trading and issuance should be legal in the nation in an interview with the Russian News agency Intrerfax on 16th March 2020.

Russia’s Central Bank Warns on Crypto Risk

Although the original law on “Digital Financial Assets,” passed in 2018, stated that the trading of cryptos was legal in Russia, Guznov revealed that the amended bill would ban the issuance and selling of cryptocurrencies in the country. The amended document will prohibit almost everything about cryptocurrency except holding. Guznov stated that, so far, they have made consensus with market players and other government bodies that participate in the discussion. He mentioned that the consensus reached stipulates that nobody is going to ban holding (owning) of cryptos. He said that, in the end, owning cryptocurrency is not like owning arms or drugs.

But he stated that the legalization of issuance and circulation of cryptos pose an unjustified risk. This is the reason why the coming law will prohibit the circulation and issuance of cryptos and would introduce penalties for the violation of this law. Guznov said: “We believe there are big risks of legalizing the operations with the cryptocurrencies, from the standpoint of financial stability, money laundering prevention, and consumer protection.”

People will not face punishment for owning cryptocurrency if they make transactions in a jurisdiction, which does not prohibit that. But the upcoming bill would outlaw institutions that make cryptocurrency trading and usage.

Guznov identified that the bill might finally be passed during this spring session of the parliament (in November or December 2020).

Russia’s Cryptocurrency Law Taking A Confusing Shape

The latest statement about Russia’s upcoming crypto regulation came after several uncertainties and many delays in providing clarity to regulate digital assets. In early 2019, president Vladimir Putin urged the government to go for a more regulated crypto industry by adopting the bill on “Digital Financial Assets.” But the bill has not yet taken a practical shape to date.

While Russia’s finance ministry has been attempting to legalize cryptos in the nation, the central bank has been fighting to ban citizens from legally using cryptocurrencies. Russia’s central bank seems to associate crypto-related transactions with potential money laundering risk.

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Why Energy Experts are Watching the Crypto Market Closely

The oil market is currently witnessing a tussle between Russia and Saudi Arabia on the issue of oil production to counter the slowdown of the US Market.

If the rumors are to be believed, the Iranian Government is making efforts to use cryptocurrency to bypass the sanctions which resulted from their involvement in the manipulation of the oil market. If one takes a closer look, China, Russia, and Iran have been some of the most active countries taking a keen interest in the cryptocurrency space. They are also some of the top oil-producing countries in the world.

Many cryptocurrencies, particularly Bitcoin operates on ‘Proof-of-Work’ algorithms which require energy for mining.

“Big crypto mining pools are rejecting Iranian miners because of sanctions We don’t give a damn about sanctions. If we get sanctioned we’d just shut down the company and open a new one.” as stated by Mikhael Jerlis, CEO of the Russian EMCD.IO mining pool

The three years of the proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran in Yemen has left the oil market in chaos. The catalyst appears to be the attacks executed by Houthi rebels at Red Sea’s Bab al-Mandeb Strait resulting in Saudi Arabia halting its oil supplies. This is why the crypto savy alliance of Russia, China and Iran are keeping a close watch on US sanctions and Saudi Arabia’s oil movement.

How Cryptocurrency Kicks In?

It is interesting to address that Bitcoin or for that matter, any other cryptocurrency can replace the ‘dollar’ in the oil market since Bitcoin is the least correlated asset in the glocal economy as compared to the oil market. Despite the havoc ‘Coronavirus’ is creating on the global GDP (reportedly $2.7 Trillion Loss), Bitcoin doesn’t seem to be shaken off from its steady route, having gained twice the market price of $7,900 as compared to last year’s market price.

“You could argue they [gold and the dollar] are inversely correlated. That could be an indication of how bitcoin will be impacted if it’s deemed to be a store-of-value asset class.” Aboualfa said.

However, he also mentioned that Bitcoin/cryptocurrency is looked upon as ‘sanction play’ and not any store-of-value asset class.

Apart from bypassing sanctions via playing with Bitcoins, another factor that makes the energy experts keep a close watch on the crypto market is their deep pockets in the crypto markets. Bitcoin, like any other asset, is currently without a doubt a ‘hot stock’ which is wanted by everyone. Whether or not it is going to make a big mark in the future, its potential to earn you big money in the current case scenario is very real.

On 7th March 2020, Bitcoin took a big hit as its price crumbled to $7,500 from a soaring $9,100. A total of $26 Billion was completely wiped off from the cryptocurrency market. Such a reaction came soon after the oil market plunged 24%, the worst day since 1991. The US West Texas Intermediate Crude posted their report on Monday with a drop as low as 24.59% settling for $31.13/Barrel. The drop in terms of absolute dollars was $10.15.

Apart from the drop on 7th March, Bitcoin again faced a nose crushing fall on 12th March where the price fell below $3,000 bouncing back to struggling $5,500. The reason for such a fall was again attributed to the poor stock market condition in US and fall in Oil Price, not to forget the COVID-19 outbreak.

Source: CoinMarketCap

Such kind of dips in the crypto markets (triggered by oil market) are huge opportunities for the big corporate giants and energy experts with a vested interest to buy crypto assets at low prices and make a profit out of it once the market is on the rise again.

Jehan Chu, co-founder of Kenetic Capital said,”For those who have long term investment horizons, bitcoin is absolutely a buy during these dips. We can expect more of this volatility sparked by macro health and financial shocks, but ultimately long term investments in the digital future and it’s key asset Bitcoin will be a winning strategy”

In order to maximize profits and take the full advantage (even when oil market is down), energy experts are keeping a close watch on the crypto market as part of their asset portfolio diversification.

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Russians are Rushing to Buy Bitcoin as COVID-19 Pandemic Continues

As governments around the world continue to battle ill-effects of the ongoing COVID pandemic, Bitcoin is turning out an investment of choice among developing and emerging economies.

Bitcoin spikes in Russia

A study by Russia’s RBC on June 4 noted Bitcoin trading and exchange volumes are surging across the country’s local exchanges. Most volume seems to have increased from March onwards – around the same time when COVID intensified. The report comes even as Russia considers banning the issuance and trading of cryptocurrencies in the country.

Officials from the Russian chapter of Binance, Garantex, and EXMO shared insights with the Russian publication, confirming the growth in users originating from the country. All the bourses have mandatory KYC policies in place, meaning the reported figures are accurate.

As the users have grown, so have volumes. Gleb Kostarev from Binance Russia reveals registrations in April 2020 were about twice those of December 2019. He further noted: “It is worth noting separately that the popularity of futures trading is growing among Russians.”

Kostareb added trading volumes of Bitcoin and other crypto-products, in May, were double of March and almost “five times as high” as recorded in January.

However, Garantex’s Sergey Mendelev said the increase in activity did not necessarily mean people were actively withdrawing the any profits or their initial assets. Meanwhile, EXMO’s Sergey Zhdanov stated user activity on the exchange’s site increased over 20 percent, with 12 percent of that metric being Russian users.

The ongoing coronavirus pandemic has led to self-isolated and a lack of income for many people. With such a backdrop, analysts believe traders and new investors are being driven to cryptocurrency and traditional markets in the search of volatility, and in turn, profits.

As reported by Blockchain.News, a report by Bloomberg earlier this week noted an increase in Bitcoin trading activity alongside a decrease in volatility compared to traditional markets.

The report singled out Bitcoin as a “safe hedge” comparable to gold and claimed the general population is both aware and affected by incandescent money printing by global governments – which economists believe can lead to eventual inflation.

The report went on to suggest Bitcoin prices reaching over $20,000 in 2020, although such predictions have proven false in the past. Meanwhile, Virgin Galactic CEO Chamath Paliyapitaya does not believe the corona will prove a bullish factor for Bitcoin, stating the notion is “idiotic.”

Vladimir Putin’s Next Presidential Term Will Depend on Blockchain-Powered Constitutional Amendment Voting

Russia’s upcoming e-voting on Vladimir Putin’s Constitutional amendments will be implemented using blockchain technology.

Citizens in Moscow will be able to cast their votes online using blockchain-powered e-voting, according to the Moscow government’s official website. Starting on June 5, Moscow citizens can sign up for the upcoming voting scheduled from June 25 to June 30.

By implementing blockchain technology for the voting process, it ensures security and transparency and will help to anonymize and encrypt each vote which provides the immutability of the data.

The Russian voting blockchain network will not have a single server, which ensures that the chain is “almost impossible to hack.”

According to the announcement, “Such a network does not have a single server: in order to change the information regarding bulletins, it is necessary to obtain the approval of most network participants, so the chain is almost impossible to hack. The vote itself is anonymized and encrypted.”

The Constitutional amendments proposal aims to allow Putin to serve an additional two six-year terms, as introduced in January 2020. Putin has been serving in office in his posts as the prime minister or President since 1999, and if Russian voters vote against him, he will be leaving his post as President in 2024.

Changpeng Zhao (CZ), the CEO of Binance previously mentioned that the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, could be the most influential person in the crypto space.

Shortly after, China’s President Xi Jinping publicly endorsed blockchain. He mentioned that he believes that regulations have a significant impact on cryptocurrency adoption. “I strongly and fully believe that the more favorable they are to the blockchain industry, the better the country will develop this market and increase the likelihood of becoming the leaders of the financial world tomorrow.”

Russia sees surge in Bitcoin popularity

A recent study noted that Bitcoin trading and exchange volumes have been surging in the country’s local exchanges, amid the COVID-19 pandemic. With the lack of income due to self-isolation and business operations coming to a halt, analysts believe traders and new investors are looking at cryptocurrencies.

Russia’s E-Voting Blockchain Platform Attacked

Russia’s blockchain e-voting platform for President Vladimir Putin’s proposed Constitutional amendments reportedly suffered a node attack last weekend. The proposal if passed will allow Putin to serve as President until 2036.

Russia’s integration of blockchain-based voting is off to a bad start as the Bitfury powered system was reportedly attacked through an election observer’s node.

The attack occurred on June 27, according to Russian state media organization TASS. However, the media site reports that government officials insist the attack did not cause a system malfunction and all the votes that have been recorded on the blockchain are valid. Cybersecurity experts have reportedly attempted to restore access to the attacked node, however, it is unclear if they have been successful.

Russian Blockchain E-Voting Issues

The e-voting period is slated as June 25 to June 30 for residents of Moscow, with the node attack occurring on the third day. This was not the first issue with the blockchain system as previous reports claim the website for e-voting was inaccessible during the first few hours after it went live.

Further to being inaccessible, it appears to be less than tamper-proof, as a local journalist name Pavel Lobkov, shared a video discussing how he had managed to vote twice—once offline at the local polling station, and then again online less than an hour later. There were similar reports about multiple votes including one from a Russian national Yael Iliinsky who is based in Israel, she claimed she was able to vote three times and even her daughter—a minor—was able to cast a vote.

12 More Years of Putin

The Constitutional amendment proposal was first introduced on Jan 15, 2020, and if passed it would allow Russia’s President Vladimir Putin to serve for another two six-year terms. Should the Russian people vote against the amendments, Putin will have to vacate the presidency by 2024.

Property or Not? Bitcoin Thieves Released Because “Bitcoin is Not Property”

A Russian Court recently ruled a Bitcoin theft case as innocent, stating that Bitcoin was not considered property. The victim sought restitution, after being robbed of 100 Bitcoins. If this case were to be tried in another country, the jurisdiction would have ruled it as a felony.

However, the Russian court dismissed the motion, stating that Bitcoin was a virtual currency and therefore does not enjoy the same property protection as other types of assets.

The Petrograd District Court of St. Petersburg argued that the culprit, Peter Piron, was innocent and not charged for cryptocurrency fraud. The pretext was that the court declared the claim to be unrecognized under Russian law since virtual currencies are not recognized in Russia.

Legal Reign- Politics

Russia’s blockchain e-voting platform for President Vladimir Putin’s proposed Constitutional amendments reportedly suffered a node attack recently. If the proposal is accepted, Vladimir Putin will be allowed to serve as Pr will allow Putin to serve as President until 2036.

As previously reported by Blockchain.News, prior to this time, Russia was perceived to be making moves in setting up a better regulatory framework around cryptocurrency; one could say that the disposition of the Russian government towards cryptocurrencies remains unclear with several ministries, and the central bank is alleged to be working towards agreeing to a ban on cryptocurrency.

Russia Divided in Opinion Concerning Bitcoin

In other news, Russia’s State Duma openly declared that he hated cryptocurrencies as a whole, whether it be Bitcoins, Ethereum, Ripple, etc. If it was not in Ruble, Russia’s official currency, or currency issued by a state, he stated that Russia’s government would not be open to adopting it.