Russian LavkaLavka startup attracts $2.5 million on biocoin offering after initial government suspicions

LavkaLavka (can be roughly translated as ShopShop), a Russian farming startup focused on the eco theme, has managed to attract 2.5 million U.S. dollars, selling its brand biocoins for Russian rubles.

The timeline of this project development gives a good insight on how the Russian authorities currently see ICOs. At first, they didn’t notice it, then the legal issues arose and the project leader had to explain all about his business to the authorities, and only then, after getting approval from governmental institutions and a State Duma deputy, they could hold an ICO without fear – and without bitcoins, as this cryptocurrency is still in a gray zone in Russia and the Central Bank does not see any reason why it needs legalization.

Two more ICO rounds are yet to come. While looking small on the international market, the sum seems to please the owners of LavkaLavka, and they plan to issue a mobile app both for iOS and Android to make the buying of biocoins even swifter.