The Daily: Cars and Pizzas for Crypto in Russia, Crypto Valley in South Korea

The wide adoption of cryptocurrencies in Russia has been put on hold after the State Duma postponed the final reading of three crypto bills for its fall session. Nevertheless, Russian companies are already planning to introduce crypto payments as soon as the regulations are in place. Among them, a major car dealer and an international pizza chain. Also in The Daily, the governor of Jeju has received support from Bitcoin.com for his efforts to create a Crypto Valley on the island. And while the South Korean province hopes to become a crypto and blockchain hub in Asia, major European banks have decided to base their blockchain initiative in Dublin.   

Also read: Hackers in High Demand, China Hires Cryptographer

Avtospetscenter and Papa John’s Prepare for Crypto Payments

With Russian parliamentarians taking vacation without keeping Putin’s July deadline for adopting comprehensive regulations for the country’s crypto space, Russian companies are left with only one option – to plan for crypto adoption after lawmakers officially recognize cryptocurrencies this fall. Two major businesses have announced their readiness to take advantage of crypto payments once they are legalized by authorities in Moscow.

One of Russia’s major car dealers, Avtospetscenter (ASC), has admitted it intends to start selling automobiles for digital money. “We are thinking of selling cars for cryptocurrency. The idea is under development. If there are no obstacles in the legislation, ASC will start selling cars and providing crypto services by 2020 – 2021,” Andrey Turkin, general manager of ASC’s subsidiary Audi Center Taganka, said quoted by Bits Media.

Soon, Russians will probably be able to order pizza with bitcoin as well. “Cryptocurrency has every chance of being directly applied in our business. I think, in the future, you’ll be able to buy our pizzas with bitcoin. We have the solutions ready, but for now we are just waiting for the right moment to start it all,” Christopher Wynne, Papa John’s President for Russia, CIS and Poland, revealed in an interview with TASS.

Governor of Jeju With Bitcoin.com Wallet

Won Hee-ryong, the governor of Jeju in South Korea, has presented some ambitious plans for his province and they involve cryptocurrency adoption with the help of Bitcoin.com and Bitcoin Cash (BCH). Won wants to turn Jeju Island into Korea’s Crypto Valley and has already made proposals for that to the country’s National Assembly.

During the Huobi Carnival in Seoul this week, Won Hee-ryong met with Bitcoin.com CEO Roger Ver who promised to contribute to the realization of the project and support the efforts of the governor. Prior to their conversation, Mr. Ver showed Mr. Won how to download and install the Bitcoin.com wallet on his smartphone, Blockinpress reported.

The opening of Jeju to various projects from around the world will help the development of the crypto and blockchain technology, Roger Ver noted. He also said that people from the crypto space will discover the island as a holiday destination. “I will support Jeju to become a prosperous blockchain hub,” Mr. Ver emphasized and revealed he is planning to visit the island next month.

Won Hee-ryong accepted the offered help and added: “As Mr. Roger Ver said, Jeju is an international tourist destination with a good environment to become a blockchain hub.” He also noted that the island has a special, autonomous status that can help solve regulatory issues which haven’t been solved at national level.

Top Euro Banks Choose Dublin for Their Blockchain Initiative

An alliance of nine leading European banks has chosen the Irish capital as a base for their blockchain initiative, local media reported. The We.trade group, formerly Digital Trade Chain, includes major financial institutions from the Old Continent such as Deutsche Bank, HSBC and Santander. The consortium was founded in 2017 to explore and develop blockchain technologies for carrying out transactions between banks and their clients. The platform is currently used for trades among 11 European countries.

After a period of development and testing, the participating banks are now working to onboard more clients, revealed We.trade’s Chief Operating Officer, Roberto Mancone, former head of the disruptive technologies division of Deutsche Bank. “It’s no longer a proof of concept, it’s no longer an experiment, the platform is now made available to the clients,” he said, adding that they can find counterparts in other countries and start trading using the platform to create smart contracts, finance invoices or make payments.

Days after We.trade’s announcement, a European blockchain body expressed concerns over the lack of legal clarity in regards to the implementation of blockchain technologies and the application of EU’s General Data Protection Regulation law (GDPR). The EU Blockchain Observatory and Forum warned that the new rules which went into effect recently are actually threatening innovation in the space.

“As long as the legal framework around personal data and blockchain remains unclear, entrepreneurs and those designing and building blockchain-based platforms and applications in Europe face massive uncertainty. That can put a brake on innovation,” the organization said in a report titled “Blockchain Innovation in Europe”. One of the main concerns stems from the incompatibility between the right of individuals under GDPR to request their personal data to be deleted and the immutability of data stored on a blockchain.

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Images courtesy of Shutterstock, Blockinpress.

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