Russia Decides To Extradite Suspected Bitcoin Money Launderer

Russia's foreign ministry has sharply criticized a Greek court's decision to extradite Alexander Vinnik to the US for his alleged role in laundering funds through the BTC-e bitcoin exchange.

In a statement, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs said today that they "noted with regret" that the court opted to comply with the US's extradition request for Vinnik, who was arrested in Greece in late July and was accused of laundering billions of dollars in bitcoin through the exchange.

Both Vinnik and BTC-e were later charged by US prosecutors, with FinCEN handing down a $110 million fine after the sealed indictment was unveiled.

Since then, Vinnik has remained in Greece pending the outcome of the extradition process. During that time the Russian government moved to extradite Vinnik on unrelated charges, a move that was later endorsed by Vinnik himself in a statement to Russia Today.

To date, Vinnik has maintained that he is innocent of the charges, though he claims to have worked for BTC-e in the past. BTC-e, for its part, has denied Vinnik's involvement and, since the exchange's site domain was seized by US agents, has moved to establish a new cryptocurrency exchange.

But this week's ruling by a Greek judge was met with dismay by the Russian foreign ministry, which in a statement urged the court to reconsider the decision.

The Russian government said:

"We deem the verdict unjust and a violation of international law. A request from the Russian Prosecutor General's Office on extraditing Mr Vinnik to Russia was submitted to the Greek authorities. Based on legal precedent, the Russian request should take priority as Mr Vinnik is a citizen of Russia."

The statement notably makes no mention of BTC-e or the specific crimes for which Vinnik has been accused. That said, it does make note that Vinnik's legal team will appeal the decision, potentially leaving it up to the Greek Justice Ministry to decide on where the Russian national will be sent.

The foreign ministry also expressed hope that Vinnik will ultimately be extradited to Russia.

"We hope the Greek authorities will consider the Russian Prosecutor General's Office request, and Russia’s reasoning, and act in strict compliance with international law," the ministry said.

Source: Coindesk

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A new Blockchain Data Privacy Pilot Unveiled By The UK Central Bank

The Bank of England, the UK's central bank, has added yet another blockchain proof-of-concept (PoC) to its growing fintech accelerator program.

The institution is working with blockchain startup Chain on a data privacy pilot, according to a new announcement. The project is one of four unveiled today, all of which focus on financial information processing.

Bank of England officials have been working with a number of startups and companies on blockchain applications through its accelerator since it launched late last year. Among those were a real-time gross settlement (RTGS) trial involving technology developed by Ripple, as well as an asset exchange pilot involving PwC.

In a speech to fintech firms in Cambridge this morning, Andrew Hauser, the central bank's executive director for banking, payments and financial resilience, highlighted additional details about the new pilot.

"The PoC will examine the extent to which [distributed ledger technology] based systems can be configured to enable privacy amongst participants, whilst keeping data on a shared ledger: one of the holy grails of DLT design," he told event attendees.

The UK central bank first voiced its interest in a blockchain data privacy pilot in April. At the time, Bank of England governor Mark Carney said that the institution wanted to explore "maintaining privacy in a distributed ledger."

The Bank of England is exploring multiple applications of the tech, including its use as a basis for a central bank-issued digital currency – an area that a number of central banks worldwide are also researching.


Source: Coindesk

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China: A New Framework For Cryptocurrencies Trading

The China News Agency (Xinhua) has returned today on the new Chinese policy on cryptocurrencies that led to the closure of the country's main trade.

The agency also announced the strengthening of existing regulations. Regulators are able to develop a severe regulatory framework for trading platforms with specific requirements such as licensing, cap on amounts that a client can trade, and more stringent KYC and AML procedures .


Source: news.xinhuanet.com

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Singapore's Central Bank works to Regulate Bitcoin Transactions

The minister for the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), the nation's central banking authority, has said the institution is working to create a regulatory framework for bitcoin payments.

In response to a question on the matter from an MP, Tharman Shanmugaratnam – who is also deputy prime minister of Singapore – confirmed that while the MAS "has been monitoring" cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin and ether, it has no intention of regulating them. However, certain peripheral activities will require a legal framework, he said.

MAS, he went on, is now working to create a new regulatory framework for cryptocurrency payment services, in order to ensure they are not misused for money laundering and terrorism financing.

In the statement, Shanmugaratnam clarified that, while MAS has yet to produce a targeted regulatory framework uniquely for ICOs, it will do so if deemed necessary.

Shanmugaratnam explained:

"Virtual currencies can go beyond being a means of payment, and evolve into "second generation" tokens representing benefits such as ownership in assets, like a share or bond certificate. These are financial activities that falls under MAS' regulatory ambit."

The minister also said that while cryptocurrency trading is widely popular in U.S., Japan and Hong Kong, trading volume is relatively low in Singapore. On top of that, only about 20 Singapore retailers accept bitcoin, according to the the central banking authority.

In August, MAS announced that tokens may be classified as securities. Further, the financial regulator has issued statements warning investors of potential fraudulent ICO schemes.

Last month, the bank accounts of a number of bitcoin businesses based in Singapore had their bank accounts closed without explanation. MAS said at the time that, as the closure represent a commercial decision taken by banks, it would not interfere.


Source: Coindesk

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The Switzerland's Lucerne University Accept Bitcoin

Switzerland's Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts is now accepting bitcoin.

The public institution is taking the cryptocurrency as payment for student-related bills through a partnership with Bitcoin Suisse AG. As might be expected, the university itself won't handle the bitcoin – rather, the brokerage firm will exchange incoming payments into Swiss francs on a weekly basis, according to an announcement.

"Bitcoin Suisse AG will bear the risk of any exchange rate losses and currency fluctuations," the university notes.

Immediate adoption by most students is not expected, however. Only those who are savvy about finance or are interested in pursuing an education in this area are expected to choose the payment method, the release indicates.

The move makes it the latest publicly funded higher education institute to embrace bitcoin as an alternative payment, following the King's College New York, The University of Nicosia in Cyprus, and The University of Cumbria in the U.K.

Yet the move is perhaps an unsurprising one, given the interest the university has shown toward the tech to date.

Researchers at Lucerne are involved in a number of blockchain initiatives, including an ethereum-based identity solution being spearheaded by the City of Zug. The university is also a member of the non-profit Crypto Valley Association, a working group dedicated to companies and startups in Switzerland that are using the tech.


Source: Coindesk

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Malaysia's Central Bank will Statute for Ban Cryptocurrencies in the End year

The governor of Malaysia's central bank would not rule out a ban on cryptocurrencies when discussing upcoming regulation yesterday.

Speaking to reporters at a financial crime conference in Kuala Lumpur, the governor of Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) said it will decide "before the end of the year" whether to ban the trading of cryptocurrencies under its mandate as a domestic financial regulator.

Yet, in subsequent statements, Ibrahim hinted that Malaysia's final stance might not be so severe.

According to the Malaysian Insight, he said:

"This (ban on cryptocurrencies) is something that we will decide on by the end of the year. The guidelines that we will be issuing before the end of the year will address issues in terms of registering the players, collecting data and ensuring that whatever they do will be transparent."

Pushed for further information, Ibrahim called for patience. "Now is only October," he said. "In less than three months we will give you the details."

While it had previously stated that bitcoin would be left unregulated, BNM announced in September it would begin to create guidelines for entities working with cryptocurrencies. Last month, BNM issued an investor warning for those participating in blockchain token sales, also called initial coin offerings (ICOs).

That announcement came soon after Chinese authorities issued a statement in early September ordering an immediate halt to all token sales. Under seeming regulatory pressure, leading cryptocurrency exchanges came forward in the subsequent weeks to announce they would be voluntarily closing their doors in light of the ban.


Source: Coindesk

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Two IT workers in Crimea were fired for mining bitcoins at work

Two IT workers employed by an authority in Crimea were fired late last month after they were reportedly caught mining bitcoins at work.

"RIA Novosti" reports that the two unnamed individuals were employees of the Council of Ministers of Crimea, part of the disputed territory's executive branch. The news service indicates the workers installed mining software on computers owned by the council, though the report didn't state how long the operation had been in place.

Through mining – the energy-intensive process by which new transactions are added to a blockchain – the two were said to have raised only a small amount of bitcoin before being discovered.

Whether the council is pursuing charges against the individuals remains uncertain at this time.

The incident is the latest instance in which an employee used official resources to mine bitcoin – only to get caught and terminated for doing so.

In January, an IT employee for the Federal Reserve board of directors was fined $5,000 and put on probation after using a server to mine bitcoins. Later in July, a New York City employee was disciplined after being caught using a government computer to mine bitcoins.


Source: Coindesk

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FedEx and Tencent, participate in Tapscott-Led Blockchain Research Effort

A Canada-based blockchain research effort has added over a dozen members including major companies Tencent and FedEx, and the Ontario Ministry of Health.

The Blockchain Research Institute was originally founded in March by Don and Alex Tapscott, and backed by a group companies like IBM and PepsiCo, as well as a number of blockchain startups.

Aimed to serve as a hub for academic research around the technology, the institute's new members also notably include Deloitte Canada, the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC), Fujitsu, telecom provider Bell Canada and gold mining giant Barrick Gold.

Those backing the effort expressed optimism over the effort in a press release, including Tencent's blockchain lead, Ray Guo, who said:

"BlockchainResearch Institute provides a great platform for Tencent and other members of the institute to carry out blockchain research and discussion, which is of great significance to Tencent and the industry. We believe that the blockchain+ era is coming!"

The institute – which has more than 50 experts developing research and analysis – has also announced that its team will now be working on more than 70 projects. The group has already begun releasing reports exploring blockchain's future potential in a variety of use cases.

The other new members to have joined the research effort are: Capgemini Canada, Cimcorp, the Institute on Governance, KPMG LLP, MKS Switzerland, food retailer Loblaw Companies, interbank network operator Interac and Moog.


Source: Coindesk

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AXEL WEBER : The bitcoin does not meet the criteria of a complete currency

The chairman of Swiss banking giant UBS doesn't believe that bitcoin meets the full definition of a currency, according to new statements.

Axel Weber, who previously served as head of the Bundesbank, Germany's central bank, made the remarks during an event in Zürich earlier today, according to Reuters.

After noting that his skepticism toward the cryptocurrency "probably comes from my background as a central banker," Weber argued that in spite of arguments to the contrary, bitcoin only partially satisfies the common definition of a currency.

He told event attendees:

"The important function of a currency is, it’s a means of payment, it has to be generally accepted, it has to be a store of value and it’s a transaction currency. Bitcoin is only a transaction currency."

Weber reportedly criticized the cryptocurrency market back in late 2015, according to a report at the time from City A.M. He is said to have remarked that the bitcoin model is set to fail "because there is no lender of last resort – there will always be boom and bust."

The UBS chairman becomes the latest figure from a major financial institution to weigh in on the topic of cryptocurrencies. Just yesterday, Lloyd Blankfein, the CEO of Wall Street investment bank Goldman Sachs, took to Twitter to offer an open (if not neutral) perspective on bitcoin.

Source: Coindesk

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