Putin calls for the creation of an independent blockchain-based settlement network

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(Kitco News) – During a recent speech at the international AI Journey conference in Moscow, Russian President Vladimir Putin called for the creation of an independent blockchain-based settlement network to fight the monopoly of the global financial payment system currently held by Western banks.

“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 users and, most importantly, will not depend on banks or interference from third countries,” the Russian said. said the president. “I am convinced that something like this will certainly be created and will develop because no one likes the dictates of the monopolists, which harms all parties, including the monopolists themselves.”

Putin called for the new system in response to international sanctions imposed on the country following its invasion of Ukraine, which he described as “illegal restrictions”.

“All of us know very well that settlements are one of the possible methods of attack under the current circumstances of illegal restrictions. Our financial institutions know this better than anyone because they work under them,” the president said in his speech at the event.

The Russian leader went on to highlight that it is not only Russia, but all countries around the world that are at a disadvantage when using the current system, which is largely controlled by a small number of countries.

“The existing system of international payments is expensive, the system of correspondent accounts and regulation is controlled by a narrow club of states and financial groups,” he noted.

Putin’s speech follows last week’s announcement that Russian lawmakers in the Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank of Russia were working to develop changes that would allow the launch of a national crypto exchange.

The changes seek to establish a legal framework for a national stock exchange, which must first be presented to and approved by the central bank. Tax revenue was cited as one of the main reasons for the creation of a regulatory framework around cryptos by Sergey Altuhov, a member of the Duma’s Committee on Economic Policy.

“It makes no sense to deny the existence of cryptocurrencies, the problem is that they circulate in a large stream outside of government regulation,” Altuhov said. “These are billions of tax rubles of lost tax revenue to the federal budget.”

Anatoly Aksakov, head of the Duma Financial Markets Committee, echoed these sentiments, saying that “the adoption of the law will bring this activity into the legal field and make it possible to form a law enforcement practice in issues related to the issuance and circulation of digital currencies.”