Russian President Vladimir Putin Calls for International Blockchain-Based Payments System: Report

Russian President Vladimir Putin is reportedly calling for an international payments system based on distributed ledger technology.

According to the Russian state-owned news agency TASS, Putin says that a blockchain-based international payments system is much more suitable in today’s world.

“It is possible to create a new system of international payments based on digital currency technologies and distributed registries, much more convenient, but at the same time completely safe for participants and independent of banks and third-party interference.”

Putin also criticizes the current state of international payments, saying that the system is governed by a handful of public and private entities.

“In the conditions of the current illegitimate restrictions, settlements are one of the attack lines. The current international payment system is expensive, and its correspondent account system and regulation are controlled by a small group of states and financial companies.”

The report does not include additional details about Putin’s plans for an international payment system based on a distributed ledger.

Putin’s statements come after the European Union (EU) introduced another round of sanctions on Russia last month for its continued military aggression against Ukraine. The EU tightened its sanctions against the Russian government by banning all cryptocurrency wallet and custody services. The ban came just weeks after the Ministry of Finance and the Bank of Russia acknowledged it was necessary to soon enable cross-border crypto payments.

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