Blockchain Grain Trading Platform Sees Commercial Launch to Tap Russia Market

Blockchain will streamline trade from Europe’s grain belt. Following two years of pilot testing, a blockchain trade and financing platform for global agricultural trading has seen its commercial rollout from Swiss developer Cerealia SA.The launch follows extensive prelaunch trial implementation with firms from Algeria, Brazil, Dubai, Japan and Ukraine. In November 2018, Cointelegraph reported on the platform’s early use to conduct a pilot transaction of Black Sea wheat from the Russian port city of Novorossiysk. Cerealia told reporters that it has sought to address the need for a fast....

Tokenization of real-world commodities could drastically reduce trading costs, says one Swiss startup as it pilots a new non-fungible token system. A Swiss agricultural startup has piloted the use of a non-fungible token for cutting down the costs of trading grain. The system implemented by Swiss firm Cerealia SA sees the tokens reportedly backed by 30,000 metric tons of Mexican white corn.Although the Cerealia platform only facilitates two-way deals at the time being, an upcoming addition will allow for third-parties to trade and speculate on grain deals using the token. A digital system....

In advance of presenting its comprehensive view on crypto regulations, the Central Bank of Russia has indicated that it sees no place for cryptocurrencies in the country’s financial market. The monetary authority also announced that the prototype of the platform for its own digital currency is already completed. Bank of Russia to Issue Report on Cryptocurrency Known for maintaining a hardline stance on the question of legalizing cryptocurrencies, the Central Bank of Russia (CBR) is now preparing a report that will provide its view on the matter in detail. The regulator intends to....

The Central Bank of Russia and participating commercial banks want to test various types of payments with the digital ruble, the Russian press reported. The plan is to experiment with smart contracts and transactions related to real estate and crypto asset purchases. Bank of Russia to Launch Smart Contracts on Digital Ruble Platform Russia’s central bank intends to start implementing smart contracts with the digital ruble next April, the daily Izvestia unveiled this week, quoting the regulator. Until then, the new incarnation of the national fiat will be put to the test....

Russia is a fine example of how difficult it is to gauge the situation related to Bitcoin. Bitcoin and Russia remain at odds with one another. The country is not too keen on embracing foreign currencies in general, and cryptocurrency is certainly not on their Christmas card list. However, the local population is showing an increasing demand for Bitcoin as of late. Do keep in mind this all needs to be taken with a grain of salt, as trading volumes remain very small. Compared to the peak of Bitcoin trading volume in 2013, Russia continues to show an increasing appetite. In fact, a new record....