Russian Federal Reserve CEO: Government should not be a stumbling block to the development of blockchain technology

Sberbank, Russia俄罗斯联邦储蓄银行largest bank, has warned that if the Russian government continues to ban virtual currencies and blockchain technology, it will likely fall behind other countries in technological innovation.

(Hermann Gref, CEO of the Russian Federal Reserve, on the right)

The government should not interfere

Herman Gref, CEO of the Russian Federal Reserve, said at the recent Moscow Financial Forum that the government's attitude towards some groundbreaking technologies is very important and they should not "get in the way."

In my opinion, the role and positioning of the government in the development of various groundbreaking technologies is extremely important. It would be better if they could encourage it through policies rather than simply ban it, especially when it comes to blockchain technology.

Gref said that blockchain technology still needs to be further developed, starting with virtual currency. Blockchain is the basis for various applications and will eventually penetrate various industries such as finance.

Gref issues a warning:

If the government sets obstacles to the development of blockchain at the beginning, it will lag behind in the subsequent stages. However, the leaders in the blockchain industry are beginning to emerge.

He also believes that the gap between the private and government sectors will continue to grow.

Whatever role the government wants to play, at least they should not be a stumbling block. Although this condition is difficult to achieve, or even impossible to happen. Blockchain technology started with virtual currencies, but unfortunately, the (Russian) government is very sensitive about virtual currencies and even wants to ban them.

In his view, governments are inefficient and cannot drive innovation no matter how high their budgets are.

No government in the world can truly be a driver of innovation, even if they set key performance indicators (KPIs) for state-owned enterprises.

The Russian Federal Reserve realizes that blockchain is the future

The Russian Federal Reserve is arguably Russia’s largest supporter of blockchain technology, having joined the R3 international consortium in December 2015.

In August, Gref said the Russian Federal Reserve was interested in joining Russia’s blockchain alliance, organized by payment company Qiwi. However, no final decision has been made yet.

Gref also echoed the sentiments of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s business adviser, who said in June that Russia should “become a world leader in blockchain.”

However, Russia's attitude towards Bitcoin and other virtual currencies has always been volatile. First, it said it would ban them completely, then it planned to define Bitcoin as a foreign currency. The policy has changed a lot, but no clear regulations have been issued. Recently, the Russian government banned the P2P exchange LocalBitcoins, which contradicts its previous statements.

However, the Russian Federal Reserve’s blockchain ideals may change, or they may not have grasped the essence of it. In any case, various studies and tests are still being carried out around the world, and all the goals promised by the private chain system have not yet been achieved.