Russia's largest bank joins R3CEV alliance, may adopt blockchain technology

Sberbank, Russia’s largest bank, may adopt blockchain technology in the future. The bank has plans to join the global R3 international consortium and develop blockchain-based services. However, like other international banking giants, they will not use Bitcoin.

Lev Khasis, the bank’s vice chairman, told Russian Business Daily:

“We will establish very close cooperation with the alliance to observe the direction of blockchain technology development. We are studying the relevant documents, and I do not rule out the possibility that we will adopt it, although no final decision has been made yet.”

According to Lev Khasis, Sberbank has no plans to use Bitcoin, despite the fact that blockchain is the underlying technology of the Bitcoin payment network.

“As far as I know, the negative stance of regulators towards Bitcoin will not change. But blockchain, it can be used in our internal stages, between us and our subsidiaries and other banks. Blockchain technology itself has nothing to do with digital currencies, it is just an accounting method: simple, fast and reliable.”

Russian perspective

At the end of the report we can see the comments made by Ivan Tikhonov, founder of the Russian company Bits.Media:

“SBT Venture Capital Fund, a venture capital fund backed by the savings bank, has expressed a strong interest in Bitcoin and blockchain technology. Therefore, the fund is interested in things that can affect the entire financial sector and can drive fundamental changes. It seems that we have taken the first substantial step towards this goal,” Mircea Mihaesku said.

Herman Gref, chairman of Sberbank Germany, has spoken in the past in support of digital currencies.

“It’s definitely not something that should be banned. It should be well studied and understood. If there is no simple legislation on digital currency and no one tries to ban it, then there will be a good space for blockchain technology to develop. So it’s not surprising that in areas where there is no regulation of blockchain, blockchain research and blockchain-based solutions are already underway.”

Original article: http://cointelegraph.com/news/115841/russias-biggest-bank-wants-to-adopt-blockchain-not-bitcoin
By Martin Rojko
Translator: Prince Gong