Blockchain is an ongoing topic of discussion in Russia. But there’s one curious thing about Blockchain - everyone seems to talk about it but do nothing about.
Leading figures in the Russian cryptocurrency community explain what to expect in case it’s implemented, how even small towns can benefit from it and why the government needs it more than we may think.
Sasha Ivanov, Founder & CEO Waves Platform:
“The current situation is rather encouraging. It looks like a law on cryptocurrencies might be introduced in Russia soon. There's a group of legislators working on it at Duma, and we’ll see the legal draft at the end of the year. There's a strong interest both from business and developers towards Blockchain technology in Russia. A great number of developers participate in major Blockchain projects. Big business and government are looking into the possibilities that the technology can offer. There are many directions for it [Blockchain] and that makes us rather optimistic about the future.”
Legalizing Blockchain might cause some problems and additional expenses for business.
Alex Fork, Humaniq, comments:
“Obviously, Russia is not ready for the Blockchain implementation. But we cannot simply ignore Blockchain tsunami, approaching Russia from the West and Asia. If the country tolerates the resistance of cryptocurrencies and Blockchain, the market will need approximately a year to get ready for it. We have one of the strongest developers communities in the world. It just waits for the green light from the government. At Humaniq we continue developing Blockchain project for the unbanked, and we focus on African and Asian low-income regions. Perhaps, there is no perfect infrastructure, but cryptocurrencies are not banned there. It is important.”
Local implementation of technology might move the domestic market forward, thinks Marina Guryeva, CEO of cyberFund.
“Russia is more than ready for the Blockchain. Firstly, it has developers eager to build cool Blockchains. Secondly, it has developers keen to earn money and understand that any public Blockchain can have the global market influence several times bigger than the local Russian one. The local economy in many remote places in Russia could be rebooted thanks to Blockchains, as it was with Kolionovo, for instance. Also, lots of public services could be optimized in terms of costs and efficiencies, as there is relatively good understanding of Blockchain technology within the government.”
Artem Tolkachev, Director and Head of Legal for Tech Group at Deloitte CIS, shares his opinion and thinks that law legislation cannot be implemented without real business cases.
“It is very hard to get ready for any kind of change. Nevertheless, we see that many market players understand that the Blockchain technology can seriously change their business model. Most of them don’t rush to rework real cases and think, that Blockchain implementation is possible after legal legislation only. The tricky thing is that law can’t control technology without keeping in mind real cases of usage. For instance, now we see, that the government wants to regulate the Blockchain market, but cryptocurrencies are just one particular example of using Blockchain.”
Referring to experts, Russia is ready to make Blockchain revolution a reality. The government wants to take control and receive tax payments from this market and rising a Crypto Valley question in Crimea region. Developers are busy with creating new projects on Blockchain and collecting funds with ICO’s with a speed of light. Time will show, whether it happens quick or will get stuck in bureaucracy stop signs.
According to the experts, Russia is ready for Blockchain, although the consequences are yet uncertain. Will it happen soon or time will show? Let us know what you think in the comments section.