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The Central Bank of Russia’s (CBR) first deputy governor has said that blockchain technology is not the "universal solution," many promised it would be five years ago.
In an interview with Euromoney on April 2, Olga Skorobogatova took a deep dive into the bank’s initiatives, sandboxes, and experiences with blockchain deployment.
Following three years of experimenting with the Masterchain platform — a local blockchain-based network for transferring valuable financial data like mortgage accounting — Skorobogatova said, “Blockchain is a great fit for things like letters of credit and guarantees because it is essentially a technology of trust.”
However, she further added that blockchain is not the cure-all that many believed it would be:
Skorobogatova said she does not believe in cryptocurrencies as a means of payment as they pose major risks for customers. She noted cryptocurrencies’ high volatility, lack of guarantee for savings, and usage in money laundering as major threats.
The deputy governor noted that the central bank is in talks with other regulators on the issue of global stablecoins, stating that, at this point, stablecoins raise more questions than answers.
The CBR has flirted with the idea of a national digital currency, which Skorobogatova questions as well:
Meanwhile, Russia has postponed its bill “On Digital Financial Assets” yet again. Anatoly Aksakov, chairman of the Russian State Duma Committee on Financial Markets and chairman of the National Banking Council at the CBR, admitted that previous delays in the bill’s adoption were caused by disagreement on the new asset type between local authorities.
Aksakov said that the central bank opposed the legalization of crypto while the State Duma advocated some crypto initiatives.
On March 24, the Ministry of Economic Development of Russia reportedly prepared a draft law that would allow the testing of cryptocurrency and blockchain developments within a special regulatory sandbox