President Putin Calls for an Independent Blockchain-Powered Global Payment Network

Russian President Vladimir Putin has called for a blockchain-based international payment system in light of Western economic sanctions being imposed on his country. 

According to a report by Cointelegraph, President Putin made his comments at the International AI Journey Conference in Moscow. During the event, which was organized by Russia’s largest bank Sberbank, Putin criticized the Western monopoly on global financial payment systems, including the ability to impose economic sanctions on other countries. 

President Putin argued that the world was in need of an international and independent payment network that could be based on blockchain settlement. 

He said, 

The technology of digital currencies and blockchains can be used to create a new system of international settlements that will be much more convenient, absolutely safe for its users and, most importantly, will not depend on banks or interference by third countries.

Putin claimed he was “confident” that a blockchain-based payment system would be developed in response to the imposition of monopolies, which he said are “harming all parties, including the monopolists themselves.”

The Russian President called sanctions imposed by foreign powers “illegitimate restrictions,” and said they posed a risk to the entire global payment landscape. 

He continued, 

The existing system of international payments is expensive, the system of its correspondent accounts and regulation are controlled by a narrow club of states and financial groups. 

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