[2018-02-24] Vladivostok Discussed as Russia’s New ”Crypto Hub”

[nickbelski]

Bankers and government officials have discussed the possible creation of a crypto valley on Russia’s Pacific coast. Representatives of the Central Bank and the executive power in Moscow have taken part in the consultations initiated by the Fund for Development of the Far East. The city of Vladivostok, where local authorities want to allow cryptocurrency trade, may become a crypto hub.  

Test Site for Crypto Regulations

The Fund for Development of the Far East has proposed the creation of a crypto valley, centered on the Russian city of Vladivostok, its general director Alexei Chekunov told RNS. The FDFE, along with the digital platform “Voshod” [sunrise], are currently discussing the idea with representatives of the Central Bank of Russia and government officials. The necessary regulatory framework and the risks associated with the project are under examination, as well.

“From around $2 billion dollars raised though crypto assets offerings, Russian projects account for about 5%, or approximately $100 million. It is obvious that the potential of our country in this new and perspective field has not been fully realized”, Chekunov said. He noted that the FDFE had been tasked by President Putin to explore the possibility of setting up a financial center in Vladivostok. “We have proposed to combine these two initiatives”, he added.

Chekunov called the experiment a “Russian Crypto Valley” and described it as a “test site for technical and regulatory approaches”. This week a local representative of the Russian Association of Cryptocurrencies and Blockchain told lawmakers in the Duma that Crimea’s jurisdiction can also be used to test the crypto “phenomenon”. A couple of days ago the head of the Russian republic of Udmurtia urged deputies to quickly adopt regulations and offered its territory for pilot projects. Other regions want to set up large mining facilities.

FDFE has also announced intentions to turn Vladivostok into Russia’s first crypto hub, taking advantage of the special economic ecosphere in its Free Port. The Deputy Finance Minister of Russia recently said that authorities in the administrative center of Primorsky Krai were interested in hosting cryptocurrency trade. The nearby Russky Island has been mentioned as a zone of free crypto interactions.

“At the moment we are focused on finalizing the regulatory rules and analyzing the possible risks. The Voshod platform is ready to start operations with crypto assets. We are working with all interested parties to begin trading after the adoption of the legal framework in mid-2018”, FDFE director Alexei Chekunov said. The Fund for Development of the Far East was created by Vnesheconombank, the government owned Russian development bank.

Source: https://news.bitcoin.com/vladivostok-discussed-as-russias-new-crypto-hub/

[Kemarit]

LOL. How many times did you here Russia proclaiming themselves as the next crypto hub but then they will suddenly issue another statement and totally contradicting themselves. I'm too tired of hearing about it and I don't believed that they have the intentions to be crypto friendly. And I take everything they say with a grain of salt. I still remember last year, saying that they will have a full operational framework as far as regulations is concern, but up to now, there is nothing. Plus they already have their own Cryptorubble, which I think is the closest they get from being a crypto hub. LOL. Forgot about Russia, and don't put any hope on them being this so called crypto hub blah blah blah...

[richardsNY]

LOL. How many times did you here Russia proclaiming themselves as the next crypto hub but then they will suddenly issue another statement and totally contradicting themselves. I'm too tired of hearing about it and I don't believed that they have the intentions to be crypto friendly. And I take everything they say with a grain of salt. I still remember last year, saying that they will have a full operational framework as far as regulations is concern, but up to now, there is nothing. Plus they already have their own Cryptorubble, which I think is the closest they get from being a crypto hub. LOL. Forgot about Russia, and don't put any hope on them being this so called crypto hub blah blah blah...

I totally agree. Russia is just putting up a massive troll show, where instead of them thinking to troll the outside world, they are actually trolling themselves. Seriously, who is still taking anything even half for granted coming from Russia that's crypto related? It has literally been years of moving back and forth without them even having farted once. China thus far has at least backed up their words with actions, even though it hasn't been positive at all what they ended up doing, but they did what they said they would do. I would love to spend some time making certain Russia crypto memes at a later point. It's well justified in this case.

[stompix]

LOL. How many times did you here Russia proclaiming themselves as the next crypto hub but then they will suddenly issue another statement and totally contradicting themselves. I'm too tired of hearing about it and I don't believed that they have the intentions to be crypto friendly. And I take everything they say with a grain of salt. I still remember last year, saying that they will have a full operational framework as far as regulations is concern, but up to now, there is nothing. Plus they already have their own Cryptorubble, which I think is the closest they get from being a crypto hub. LOL. Forgot about Russia, and don't put any hope on them being this so called crypto hub blah blah blah...

Hmm, I guess one time to many ...

Russia to “Tame and Test” Crypto Technologies in Crimea
https://news.bitcoin.com/russia-tame-test-crypto-technologies-crimea/

Russian Governor Invites Cryptocurrency Miners to Set Up Mining Farms in Leningrad
https://news.bitcoin.com/russian-governor-cryptocurrency-miners-mining-farms-leningrad/

Vladivostok Discussed as Russia’s New ”Crypto Hub”
https://news.bitcoin.com/vladivostok-discussed-as-russias-new-crypto-hub/

Bitcoin megacity could rise in Russia's Siberia  (here the location would be in the Amur Oblast, not Vladivostok)
https://www.rt.com/business/410028-russia-bitcoin-megacity-siberia/

They seem to have a problem finding the location

[Samarkand]

...
I totally agree. Russia is just putting up a massive troll show, where instead of them thinking to troll the outside world, they are actually trolling themselves. Seriously, who is still taking anything even half for granted coming from Russia that's crypto related? It has literally been years of moving back and forth without them even having farted once. China thus far has at least backed up their words with actions, even though it hasn't been positive at all what they ended up doing, but they did what they said they would do. I would love to spend some time making certain Russia crypto memes at a later point. It's well justified in this case.

Maybe their main motivation isn´t really putting up a massive troll show, but rather to fill their
own pockets? After all there were many rumors that Chinese officials made enormous profits by trading
the news that they created themselves. In my opinion it is likely that the Russian officials are playing
the same game here. Create positive news, release contradictory statement, release bad news, release
a contradictory statement...

Of course it is also possible that they are just badly coordinated and one government body has no idea
what the others are up to. Or it is indeed just a massive troll show. I guess we will never know unless Wikileaks
or a similar organisation releases a report about these allegations.

[prehisto]

LOL. How many times did you here Russia proclaiming themselves as the next crypto hub but then they will suddenly issue another statement and totally contradicting themselves. I'm too tired of hearing about it and I don't believed that they have the intentions to be crypto friendly. And I take everything they say with a grain of salt. I still remember last year, saying that they will have a full operational framework as far as regulations is concern, but up to now, there is nothing. Plus they already have their own Cryptorubble, which I think is the closest they get from being a crypto hub. LOL. Forgot about Russia, and don't put any hope on them being this so called crypto hub blah blah blah...

Agreed. Once more thay are contradicting themselves. I have red numerous news articles of banns and then again ' Russia is embracing crypto " .
Nevertheless i believe that they actually dont care much about that, the crypto will stand unregulated there and some portion of ICOs wil still be managed from there and possibly scams because of the unregulated environment there.

[richardsNY]

Maybe their main motivation isn´t really putting up a massive troll show, but rather to fill their
own pockets? After all there were many rumors that Chinese officials made enormous profits by trading
the news that they created themselves. In my opinion it is likely that the Russian officials are playing
the same game here. Create positive news, release contradictory statement, release bad news, release
a contradictory statement...

I get your point, but that only works if the general market considers Russia to be an important player, which technically might be the case, but not when it comes to them being able to affect the market with their contradicting announcements. If we look at how much impact Russian announcements have had throughout the years on Bitcoin's market, then it's safe to say that it hasn't been anything worthy of mentioning. China on the other hand does have that importance. I remember how they each time managed to undo all the gains we booked during a bull run with their announcements that resulted in the market to tank badly. It was no longer coincidence that they stepped in each time the market increased significantly. China played the game well, that credit they definitely deserve.

[hatshepsut93]

Maybe their main motivation isn´t really putting up a massive troll show, but rather to fill their
own pockets? After all there were many rumors that Chinese officials made enormous profits by trading
the news that they created themselves. In my opinion it is likely that the Russian officials are playing
the same game here. Create positive news, release contradictory statement, release bad news, release
a contradictory statement...

China had enormous influence on crypto market because it has 80% of Bitcoin miners, so traders were very sensitive to any news coming from it. Russia on the other hand is far less relevant than it pretends to be - it has no skin in the game and its economy is weak. I wouldn't pay much attention to Russia if I were actively trading cryptos, I think EU, Japan, Korea and the US are much more important.