Sberbank CIB, the investment division, together with the NRD (National Settlement Depository), announced plans for an ICO test to be launched in late August of this year. Level One is a project that will release its own tokens and conduct face-to-face lectures in various fields - from space and physics to art, fashion, and design. Storage, registration, and accounting of tokens will be addressed by the NRD. The ICO test will be conducted on a special regulatory platform of the Central Bank which allows testing of financial technology projects without violating domestic legislation.
In the Hackney area of London, there is a mosque which now accepts donations in BTC and ETH. According to a theological study in April, the use of cryptocurrency was recognized not to contradict Sharia law. The Turkish Shacklewell Lane Mosque plans to collect 10 thousand pounds sterling in cryptocurrencies during the Ramadan holiday, which takes place from May 16th to June 15th. During this period, Muslims give 2.5% of their savings to Islamic taxes, or Zakat. However, not all mosques are ready to recognize cryptocurrencies. The chief mufti of Egypt, Sheikh Shavki Allam, said that Bitcoin contradicts the principles of Islam.
At Chinese school No. 11 in Hangzhou, face recognition technology tracks the mood of schoolchildren every 30 seconds. The system can now identify whether the students are happy, frightened, irritated, or upset. However, the technology can also determine exactly what the students are doing at the moment: writing, answering the teacher, or simply sleeping in class. The system allows students to enter the school or library without any special permits or identification. The goals of such surveillance are to prevent accidents in schools, as well as to increase the effectiveness of the education. All data is protected and stored locally.