Russia Fines Google $20 Decillion, amount Surpasses World Money Supply.
A Russian court has fined tech-giant Google $20 decillion. According to a recent World Bank report, the mind-blowing fine amount, surpasses the collective money supply in the world.
Google caused offense to Russian media by blocking the accounts that belonged to multiple pro-Kremlin TV channels on YouTube.
The penalty amount that has brought global attention to the case reflects the symbolic statement of their frustration towards Western tech companies. This is also escalating the tension between the tech giant and Russia following the international sanction to limit the country’s political and economic influence.
The case was put forward by 17 Russian broadcasters which included Russia 1 and the platform related to Putin’s number 1 supporter, Margarita Simoyan. She is also a present from Russia Today.
The Russian judges were bound to put a humongous fine on Google since they removed the above mentioned accounts under the restrictive measures.
According to a Russian news outlet RBC, the Moscow judge described the fine as;
“A case in which there are many, many zeros”.
The fine was set at 100,000 rubbles daily multiplying every 24 hours since 2020.
The resulting penalty sum has now grown into $20, 000,000,00 0,000,000,000,000,000,0 00,000,000 not only exceeding Google’s total revenue of $88.2 billion and with a market cap of $2 trillion but also the total global economy estimate of $100 trillion as per World Bank.
In Related News, Russia plans to use cryptocurrency for international trade within BRICS as a way to stick it to America and its dollar. The country is working on launching two crypto exchanges, one in Moscow and the other in St. Petersburg.
The main goal here? To back up foreign economic activities (FEA). That’s right, Russia wants to make sure BRICS international trade is supported by its own crypto infrastructure, and it is happening under an experimental legal framework.
Sources close to the situation say these exchanges are likely to cater to “blue chips” first, but the scope might be tight due to the risks involved with sanctions.
According to insiders, the St. Petersburg exchange might be built on the existing St. Petersburg Currency Exchange (SPCE) framework, focusing specifically on FEA.
Meanwhile, the Moscow exchange’s foundation is still up in the air—either it will be part of the Moscow Exchange or run independently under a legal experiment.
One of the most exciting parts of this whole operation is the plan to roll out stablecoins pegged to the yuan and a broader BRICS currency basket. While stablecoins are essentially a type of cryptocurrency, they bring their own set of challenges.
These include technology hiccups within Russia’s blockchain ecosystem and issues related to liquidity, convertibility, and asset backing, which Russia does acknowledge.
Russia’s crypto regulation is still in its early days, primarily governed by key legal documents like the Federal Law No. 259-FZ on Digital Financial Assets. This law lays down the legal foundations for issuing and circulating digital financial assets.
But there’s a catch—it doesn’t provide specific rules for operating crypto exchanges. The only real applicable regulation for these potential exchanges in Russia right now is the Experimental Legal Regime (ELR), which was just recently passed.