The head of major state-owned Russian bank Sberbank has forecast that blockchain adoption will happen on an industrial scale in one to two years, local news agency TASS reported Nov. 13. Speaking to journalists this week, Sberbank CEO Herman Gref explained that the technology is entering the stage of its industrial development: “The hype around the technology [blockchain] is now over, and the technology is entering the stage of industrial development. It needs a year or two to be implemented at the industrial scale.” Gref argued that global markets are “not yet ready” for large-scale commercial adoption of blockchain, given …

Herman Gref, CEO of state-owned Sberbank – Russia’s largest banking conglomerate – believes that global governments won’t “let go” of centralized models to “allow” decentralized cryptocurrencies to flourish within the next 10 years, local news agency RIA Novosti reports Oct. 18. According to Gref, governments are not yet ready to part with centralized currencies and thus will not let decentralized digital coins gain mass adoption: “[The future] of cryptocurrencies is not clear so far as the state will not give up its central role, won’t allow [decentralized] cryptocurrencies. Though this might be the proper model – as for me, I’m …

Russia’s largest majority state-owned bank Sberbank has signed a partnership agreement with state-owned power giant Rosseti to propagate new technologies, a press release confirms Friday, October 5. The latest step in Sberbank’s ongoing engagement with innovations such as blockchain, the institution and Rosseti will work together on a raft of projects, including accelerators, education, research trials and exchange of expertise. Sberbank will also dispatch a consultant to Rosseti with the aim of “increasing the efficiency of its current operations and performance.” The energy company will also get access to a bank of “innovative laboratory developments” and products from the Sberbank …

The CEO of Russia’s largest state bank Sberbank, Herman Gref said he could not yet foresee governments “yielding their centralized role” in fiat currency creation as part of his comments on cryptocurrency. Speaking to reporters during the Astana Finance Days international conference in the Kazakhstan capital July 4, Sberbank’s Herman Gref repeated the comments he has made “many times” about cryptoassets’ future role in the economy. “Do I see a prospect of global use of cryptocurrencies as an alternative to fiat money? I don’t see it and I said it many times,” he said. “I don’t think that the state …

Two of Russia’s largest banks are testing cryptocurrency-based investment options for retail investors, local news media out Kommersant reported June 15. As part of the Russian central bank’s ‘regulatory sandbox,’ Sberbank and Alfa-Bank opted to begin experimenting with products based on so-called “digital financial assets” at a meeting last Wednesday, according to the publication. Those assets will in fact take the form of six cryptocurrencies – including Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum and Litecoin – which will form an investment portfolio. The move comes as Russia prepares to enact binding laws governing cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology, which will see crypto become …