Russia: CEO of Banking Giant Sberbank Says Blockchain Tech Will Be 'Ready' in 3-5 Years

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.

"[The future] of cryptocurrencies is not clear so far as the state will not give up its central role, won't allow cryptocurrencies.

Sberbank's CEO also encouraged governments to seek for a middle ground between mitigating fraudulent activities and "Killing" cryptocurrencies.

A ban on crypto could do harm for lots of companies that develop distributed ledger technologies, such as blockchain, he concluded.

Gref expressed this opinion while participating in finance innovation forum Finnopolis held in the South Russian city of Sochi.

The forum was also attended by the head of Russia's central bank, Elvira Nabiullina, who, unlike Gref, expressed clear scepticism towards cryptocurrencies, comparing interest in them to a "Fever" that had finally diminished.

Sberbank's CEO partly shared Nabiullina's point of view in stating that crypto "Hype" was over.

Generally, Gref's comments this week were consistent with his previously expressed stances on crypto and blockchain.

Sberbank the institution has also consistently promoted blockchain-based technologies and generally shown interest in cryptocurrencies.

In June, Sberbank and another large Russian bank, Alfa-Bank, began testing crypto investment options for retail investors within the central bank's "Regulatory sandbox."In early October, Sberbank signed a partnership agreement with state-owned power giant Rosseti to consult the corporation on blockchain implementation.