Putin meets with Vitalik Buterin to discuss blockchain applications in Russia

Vitalik Buterin and Russian President Vladimir Putin had a “brief conversation” at “some CEO gathering,” with the Ethereum founder confirming his highest-level meeting with the Russian leader in a public statement.

According to local Russian media reports, after communicating with CEOs of some large companies, the Russian president had a brief conversation with Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin, who talked about the potential use cases of blockchain technology in the Russian Federation. Putin has always supported Russia to establish business ties with partners.

It’s unclear what they said, but Buterin said he had “friendly conversations with government representatives from the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, the European Union, Switzerland, Russia, Singapore, China, and Taiwan.”

The conversation took place at the International Economic Forum in St. Petersburg.

Putin and Buterin's conversation is currently the highest-level meeting in the field. In addition, the former British minister bought Bitcoin in 2014; before becoming president, Macron, then French Finance Minister, also showed a photo holding a Ledger Blue Bitcoin and Ethereum wallet.

The conversation was notable given that Russia has banned and unbanned bitcoin and has an ambivalent attitude toward blockchain technology.

Given the significant strategic implications of the blockchain sector, it is important to take a look at it from Putin’s perspective as well as from leaders of countries such as the United States and China.

Whichever country is the first to use the technology can gain huge economic advantages, just as Britain in the 19th century was the first country to adopt new technological inventions such as railways.

Especially at a time when most countries are testing their own digital currency projects. The Bank of England (BoE) announced its research plans a while ago, and the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) also seems to be testing the Ethereum blockchain to create RMB tokens.

The Russian Central Bank appears to be following suit, with Deputy Chairman Olga Skorobogatova saying:

Regulators around the world agree that now is the right time to develop national cryptocurrencies. This is the future.