Russia’s Central Bank Suggests Masterchain Blockchain For EAEU Payments Net
br>Olga Skorobogatova, first deputy governor of the central bank of Russia, said the central bank is considering the possibility of using a proposed blockchain payments network to create a single payment space across the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU).
According to Russian news agency Tass, central bank officials are currently discussing the possibility of creating new technologies for transmitting messages and payments across the EAEU as a supranational infrastructure.
Skorobogatova said the project would enable them to use blockchain’s distributed ledger technologies within the EAEU’s space, settle payments, and transmit financial information sidestepping current payment systems. “An active discussion is underway, and we are looking into several quality technologies, including Masterchain,” Skorobogatova said. “I think that we will discuss options regarding this project as early as this year.”
In 2016, Russia’s FinTech Association, formed under the oversight of the central bank, developed Masterchain, an ethereum blockchain platform that enables “prompt confirmation of data actuality” to a transacting customer. It also makes instant communication possible between counter-parties among the platform, while assuring confidence in financial transactions.
In the central bank’s strategy for financial technology development, the bank said the platform will be rolled out first in Russia, then across the union’s other member states: Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan.
Last month, Skorobogatova said that the central intended to focus on legal regulation for using cutting-edge technologies and their implementation across the EAEU. During the same month, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev called for an EAEU-wide policy on cryptocurrency regulation.