Russians lost $150M in fraudulent ICOs last year, state-backed group to develop business standards

An astounding number of $150 million has been stated by the representatives of the Russian Association of Blockchain and Cryptocurrency (RACIB) in connection with the losses of Russian citizens in ICOs last year. This is the main reason why the organization is planning to develop rules which would ideally separate ICOs from financial pyramid schemes, activists tell.

A member of the Russian state-backed academy RANEPA has went as far as to suggest the limitation of ICOs for qualified investors only. One can read what makes a Russian resident an approved qualified investor in a report dedicated to Bitcoin futures and ETFs in Russia.

This association is headed by Herman Klimenko whose position has been characterized as an informal presidential adviser on high-tech issues. In news messages which are less related to cryptocurrency, he has been seen initially embracing the decision of Roskomnadzor to ban the popular Telegram messenger but later stated that it would make sense to apologize for sloppy tactics of the state agency which accidentally blocked other websites, including even Google for a short period of time.

Image courtesy of 22 THE PORT ALL