Russian President Vladimir Putin criticized monopolies in global financial payment systems and called for an independent and blockchain-based settlement network, speaking at the International AI Travel conference in Moscow on 24 November.
Russia’s Rostec Group, a government organization, has developed a blockchain platform to launch a digital system for international payments capable of replacing the global SWIFT system.
Russian banks were excluded from the SWIFT system last February thanks to sanctions imposed by Western countries in response to the Russian-Ukrainian war. Since then, Moscow has been trying to search for an alternative financial payment system to SWIFT to protect its foreign trade transactions.
During the event organized by Sberbank, the largest Russian bank and a major lender to the government, he said:
“The technology of digital currencies and blockchain can be used to create a new system of international settlements that will be more convenient, absolutely safe for its users and, most importantly, free from interference by banks or third countries. Will not depend. I believe. Something like this will definitely be created and developed because no one likes the order of monopolists, which is harming all parties, including the monopolists themselves.”
Putin also said that global payments and nations are at risk due to strained relations between Russia and the West following the invasion of Ukraine, labeling the sanctions imposed by the countries as “illegal sanctions”.
“The current system of international payments is costly, its system of correspondent accounts and regulation is controlled by a narrow club of states and financial groups.”, said the Russian President.
A day earlier, local media reported that legislators are discussing amendments to the existing cryptocurrency law, creating a legal framework for the national exchange.
