Russian Payments Firm Qiwi Seeks 'Bitruble' Trademark
A Russian payments firm is pushing ahead with a plan to release its own cryptocurrency, reportedly submitting an application to register a trademark for the initiative. According to Russian news agency Interfax, Qiwi is seeking to trademark the term "Bitruble". An application has been sent to the Federal Service for Intellectual Property. The filing follows the company's move to acquire domain name space related to the term "bitruble", as reported by Kommersant earlier this month. Qiwi has also indicated that the cryptocurrency could be backed by some form of commodity. The proposal drew....
Related News
A new blockchain-based digital currency called project BitRuble is expected to launch in early 2016 sais Sergey Solonin. Russian payment service provider Qiwi has reportedly invested “several hundred million rubles” to develop the first cryptocurrency designed for the Russian market. Qiwi’s General Director Sergey Solonin stated: Blockchain technology will serve as the basis for the BitRuble. However, the fate of this currency might solely depend on whether Russia’s Central Bank and the government will give the project the green light according to CEO and co-owner of Qiwi, Sergei Solonin.....
New details have emerged about Russian payments giant Qiwi's plans to issue its own cryptocurrency. Russian-language bitcoin news site ForkLog spoke with Qiwi communications director Konstantin Koltsov and Alexei Arkhipov, who is overseeing the project, about the "bitruble", which made waves in Russian media circles last month after the firm announced its intentions. Russian government officials like financial ombudsman Pavel Medvedev later denounced the plan, but the company has moved ahead, filing for relevant trademarks and floating the notion of backing the currency with commodities.....
On Thursday, the Russian Ministry of Finance proposed to introduce imprisonment for issuing and using “money substitutes”, such as Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. One of the currencies that seemingly falls under the suggested legislation is BitRuble, a project by the Russian payment processor Qiwi. BitRuble to be launched in 2016. However, as Qiwi’s Head of Cryptotech Development, Aleksey Arkhipov, said, the BitRuble team isn’t planning to go to prison any time soon: According to Arkhipov, Qiwi plans to launch BitRuble before the end of this year, however several crucial questions....
While the number of major global banks announcing blockchain tech trials continues to escalate, Russian payments startup Qiwi remains a rarity in its home country of Russia. The payment service announced last September it had built a proprietary digital currency called the ‘BitRuble’, a project that received widespread interest due to the negative climate for the technology in Russia. There, the country’s legislative assembly has been working for over a year on a law that would outlaw some uses of bitcoin. In a new interview, however, Qiwi indicated that it is still seeking to move forward....
Qiwi, a Russian payment system operator, plans to begin issuing a cryptocurrency called "bitrubles" in 2016 and has met opposition from local officials, according to Kommersant, the business daily, and PRIME, a Russian news service. Officials fear the cryptocurrency could fund terrorism and money laundering. Sergei Solonin, CEO of the company, said Qiwi has already started designing the "bitruble" and the project may require several hundred million rubles. Lawyer: Central Bank Must Authorize Currency. Only the central bank is authorized to emit money in the country, according to law firm....