Blockchain to Become More Relevant in Payments This Year, Sberbank Exec Says

Blockchain to Become More Relevant in Payments This Year, Sberbank Exec Says

Blockchain technology can help solve current issues with settlements, according to the deputy chief executive of Sberbank. Russia’s largest bank is working with other financial institutions to develop blockchain-based payment applications, the banker revealed. Sberbank Sees Solution to Russia’s Troubles With Settlements in Blockchain

With major Russian banks disconnected from the main global interbank payment system, SWIFT, due to Moscow’s war on Ukraine, blockchain will help to solve the problem with payments, Sberbank’s First Deputy CEO Alexander Vedyakhin is convinced.

“It is blockchain technology that will make it possible to solve this issue because this is a distributed ledger, there is no one point of decision making, no center, no knife switch that can be shut off,” Vedyakhin explained, quoted by the Interfax news agency.

“Everyone has everything recorded, there are special protocols that make it possible to do this confidentially,” the executive added during a meeting of the Budget and Financial Markets Committee of the Federation Council, the upper house of Russian parliament.

Majority state-owned Sberbank, which is Russia’s largest bank by assets, is currently conducting research on the applications of blockchain technology together with other banking institutions and the Central Bank of Russia. Vedyakhin, who believes that blockchain will become even more relevant in 2023, emphasized: The next generation payment systems are blockchain. Issues With Speed and Privacy Overcome in Latest Protocols, Vedyakhin Says

The banker also noted that the crypto-related technology has developed over the past few years and highlighted some of the outstanding issues that had to be resolved. These include the capacity of blockchain platforms and the confidentiality of transactions.

“The first was speed. What we were seeing before did not allow us to process a large number of transactions. Now we believe this problem has been generally solved. The second was confidentiality… If we have a transaction, and another 10 million people see it, you are unlikely to want to make it. Now this problem has also been solved in the new protocols,” Alexander Vedyakhin elaborated.

A number of Russian banks, including Sberbank, were targeted with sanctions imposed by the U.S. and the EU after the invasion of Ukraine in late February, 2022. The financial restrictions severely limited Russia’s access to the global financial system.

Last June, the CEO of Sberbank Herman Gref said that the bank has started working on establishing an international settlements system, alternative to SWIFT, planning to complete it within a year. Russia’s manufacturing and technology conglomerate Rostec announced a blockchain-based platform with the similar purpose the same month. Legalizing crypto payments for cross-border settlements has been considered as an option, too. Tags in this story Bank, Banking, banks, Blockchain, blockchain technology, ceo, Crypto, crypto payments, Cryptocurrencies, Cryptocurrency, deputy, DIstributed Ledger, Executive, Payments, restrictions, Russia, russian, Sanctions, Sberbank, Settlements, Swift

Do you think Russia will try to employ blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies to circumvent sanctions? Share your thoughts on the subject in the comments section below. Lubomir Tassev

Lubomir Tassev is a journalist from tech-savvy Eastern Europe who likes Hitchens’s quote: “Being a writer is what I am, rather than what I do.” Besides crypto, blockchain and fintech, international politics and economics are two other sources of inspiration. Bitcoin"s Ordinal Inscriptions Surpass 500,000 Mark as Miners Earn $2.66 Million in Added Fees BLOCKCHAIN | 1 day ago Blockchain Retail Market Size to Top Over $2 Billion by 2028 — Study BLOCKCHAIN | Mar 9, 2023

Image Credits: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wiki Commons, E. O. / Shutterstock.com Previous articleDamex Releases in-App Utility Token Damex Token, Enables Users to Earn Rewards for Staking Tokens Next articleBitcoin, Ethereum Technical Analysis: BTC Starts the Week Above $28,000, as Global Banking Crisis Worsens Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. It is not a direct offer or solicitation of an offer to buy or sell, or a recommendation or endorsement of any products, services, or companies. Bitcoin.com does not provide investment, tax, legal, or accounting advice. Neither the company nor the author is responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in this article. Read disclaimerShow comments More Popular NewsIn Case You Missed ItFollowing a Brief Fee Spike, Gas Prices to Move Ethereum Drop 76% in 12 Days

Transaction fees on the Ethereum network are dropping again after average fees saw a brief spike on April 5 jumping to $43 per transfer. 12 days later, average ether fees are close to dropping below $10 per transaction and median-sized ... read more.NFT Sales Volume Saw a Small Uptick This Week — Moonbirds, Mutant Apes Take Top Sales FBI Issues Alert Concerning Malicious State-Sponsored North Korean Hackers Targeting Crypto Firms Interest in Real Estate Investments in Spain Grew 400%, With Some Using Crypto and Stocks as Payment Method Terra"s Algorithmic Dollar-Pegged Crypto UST Is Now the Third-Largest Stablecoin