Russia

German Gref, the President of Sberbank, the largest bank in Russia and Eastern Europe, and the third largest in Europe, spoke about the complete breakdown of the traditional banking system within just 3-5 years. He predicts giant changes in the banking industry sooner than most people expected.

The Russian Ministry of Finance is against any "outright ban" of Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies.

The first physical Bitcoin exchange might soon be opened in the center of Moscow, Russia. Despite the negative attitude of the Russian authorities, several cryptocurrency enthusiasts announced their plans to open a small physical Bitcoin exchange point on the Novy Arbat 8 Street. Previously they only worked through the LocalBitcoins service as BTC24pro, but have now decided to work offline.

Russian authorities may abandon the initiative of criminal liability for mining or using cryptocurrencies, or so-called “money surrogates”, reported local news media Interfax on Friday.

The small village of Kolionovo, outside of Moscow Russia, has become the first in the world to integrate Blockchain technology into its farming business and agriculture management.