The government of Russia pushes hard to be dominating regarding the blockchain technology industry.
BLOCKCHAIN TO BELONG TO RUSSIA
Many of the countries in the world have shown interest in blockchain technology. One of the countries that has shown the biggest interest is Russia. Vladimir Putin declared that he doesn’t want Russia to be “late in the race” in the blockchain industry. Vladimir Putin introduced the blockchain technology as the “digital economy” of the country. Putin had also a meeting with Vitalik Buterin, one of the co-founders of Ethereum. This meeting was an important step for Russia to improve the relationships regarding the blockchain technology.
Last year in Tokyo took place an international reunion regarding the blockchain technology. New York Times published a report about the government of Russia that sent many representatives to the International Standards Organization (ISO) in Tokyo. Among the representatives of the meeting was also Grigory Marshalko, the head of the Russian delegation. Grigory Marshalko worked for the FSB, beside other 2 members from the Russian delegation.
It was a surprise for everyone that Russia spends so many resources for blockchain technology. About this, Marshalko declared:
Look, the internet belongs to the Americans — but blockchain will belong to us.
The declaration of Marshalko highlights the desire of Putin and his government to be the leader of blockchain technology.
A RACE FOR BLOCKCHAIN TECHNOLOGY
The ISO blockchain meeting in Tokyo accommodated representatives from all around the world. Not only Russia sent delegations to the ISO meeting. There participated over 130 people from all the 25 different countries that sent a delegation. China sent representatives from their finance ministry, while the US decided to send delegates from private corporations like IBM and Microsoft. The head of the British delegation, Gilbert Verdian, declared the following:
It is a very sought-out technology today, because it really does create the foundation for the future that is coming,
He also added:
To get behind it and back it now is going to put people at an advantage, either politically or economically.
Many countries see blockchain as the new battlefield to play for claiming the superiority. As such, countries like Russia are looking to tweak the standards to gain an advantage while hindering other sovereign nations.