Last week, the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, spoke about blockchain technology. At a meeting of the Russian entrepreneurs association where Putin met with the country’s largest Bank, Sberbank president Herman Gref, Putin explained that Russia needs to adopt the technology as it will be an extreme necessity in the future.
Russia Insight, a program which provides unique insights for the Russian market, released the video where Putin and the country’s largest bank Sberbank president Herman Gref, noted the necessity of the country, its regulators, and local banks of adopting blockchain technology.
Gref has long been a cryptocurrency and blockchain enthusiast and supporter. In this meeting, Putin told Gref he considers the blockchain, Virtual reality (VR), Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IoT) to be the future, and as so the country’s needs to rapidly adopt these new technologies or face falling behind on the long run. As for virtual currencies, they might get banned, or they might get accepted, according to Putin. But for now, this is not considered of extreme importance.
Bitcoin investor and expert Trace Mayer, paraphrasing the words of Putin, writes:
“We need [blockchain technology]. … Stone Age has not ended due to lack of stones, but because new technologies appeared. Those late in this race will instantly, very fast, be under full dependence from leaders of these processes. Virtual currencies are a natural outcome of blockchain technology. We may ban them, we may welcome them. It is trendy to urge people not to play with them. But they are a fact of our life.”
Last January, Putin already told TASS, a Russian news agency, that the country was looking to implement regulations to protect investors and facilitate business growth. He referred to cryptocurrencies as a medium of exchange and a settlement network, but addressed his concerns over the store of value aspect of it. Following other institutions position, Putin stressed that since cryptocurrencies are not backed by anything, their value cannot be warranted and is therefore highly volatile.
At the end of January, Sberbank admitted it would likely launch a cryptocurrency trading platform in the future to address the rapidly growing demand for bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies from local investors. Andrey Shemetov, Sberbank’s Head of Global Markets stated that the bank’s goal is to deliver strategic insight to all kinds of products and services investors may invest in the cryptocurrency market
India Prime Minister Echoes Putin
Last week, Narendra Modi, India’s Prime Minister also referred to the blockchain as an important technology which the country needs to adopt.
Narendra Modi stated:
“Disruptive technologies such as blockchain and the Internet of Things will have a profound impact in the way we live and work. They will require rapid adaptation in our workplaces.”
The Indian Prime Minister publicly mentioned that cryptocurrencies are a fact of our life, and noted that they will become an indispensable part of the global financial system.
