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NEWS Putin and Russia wary of Bitcoin B
itcoin and cryptocurrency use has “serious risks”, according to Russian president Vladimir Putin, speaking at a conference in Sochi, Russia.
The statement continues the Russian trend to be historically reluctant to interact with digital currency, in order to protect the strength of the ruble. Putin used his speech to call for more regulations on Bitcoin, and said that Russia shouldn’t use the developments in other nations as a model.
Despite his reticence, Putin has met with Vitalik Buterin, the founder of Ethereum, and given the businessman his blessing to develop blockchain in Russia. Russian banks are also secretly investigating the potential of Bitcoin and blockchain. Sberbank is rumoured to be opening cryptocurrency accounts at its Swiss operations.
At another event in Moscow, Sergei Shvetsov, deputy governor of Russia’s central bank, told investors that they need to be wary of Bitcoin’s “dubious” reputation. In a comparison almost as old as Bitcoin itself, the minister labelled it a “pyramid scheme”.
Shvetsov admitted, though, that the high returns possible from investment in Bitcoin are pulling greater and greater numbers of investors towards exchanges.
Google searches for Bitcoin and Ethereum has significantly increased in Russia in 2017. According to the search website: “The greatest surge of interest from Russian users came in the
In his recent speech, Putin called for more Bitcoin regulations
first half of 2017. From January to June the number of requests for the industry as a whole increased by more than 250%.”
The biggest rise in interest was seen in the Khabarovsk Territory (an increase of 309% in requests). The proximity to North Korea, and the geopolitical tensions in the area may have something to do with this. The number of requests for individual cryptocurrencies also had a marked increase in the region – Ethereum (1114%) and Bitcoin (317%).
The Russian central bank has a combative stance when it comes to Bitcoin exchanges, vowing to block and prosecute sites that offer the service.
Malaysian central embraces fintech I
n news that may shock you, the Malaysian central bank has said that the country is ideal for the development of fintech.
Marzunisham Omar, the assistant governor at the Bank
Negara Malaysia, has said that now is the time for all sectors of the banking community in the country to embrace the “fintech wave”.
“In Malaysia, our Islamic financial institutions are in a good position to benefit from the growth multipliers that fintech offers,” he said. “What is required is for the industry to invest in technology and talent to accelerate the adoption of technology.”
According to The Edge Markets, digital consumers in Asia will rise from the current 670 million to around 1.7 billion by 2020.
The statement follows news that Permodalan Nasional Berhad
(PNB), Malaysia’s largest fund management firm, is hoping to turn its home country into a global centre for Islamic banking.
Speaking at a lunch organised by the Malaysia Press Institute, PNB group chairman Sri Abdul Wahid Omar said the firm would “intensify efforts to address more Shari’ah-based financing products”.
Currently, 25% of all revenue for the bank comes from Islamic finance. The lender is the country’s largest by market capitalisation and total assets. PNB owns around 48% of its shares.
“We are working on carving out 20 per cent of Maybank shares into Islamic shares or i-shares,” said Wahid, though he noted the mechanisms were “still in the works”.
www.ibsintelligence.com | © IBS Intelligence 2017
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