Head of Russia’s Largest Bank Backs Bitcoin, Again

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="single-title" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #545454; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19.5px; margin: 0px; padding: 28px;"><h1 style="border: 0px; color: #202020; font-size: 40px; font-weight: 200; letter-spacing: -1px; line-height: 1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><div class="single-title" style="border: 0px; color: #545454; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19.5px; margin: 0px; padding: 28px;"><div class="single-info" style="border: 0px; color: #8a8a8a; font-size: 13px; margin: 28px 0px 0px; padding: 0px;"><span class="single-author" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://www.coindesk.com/author/nermin-hajdarbegovic/" rel="author" style="-webkit-transition: color 0.25s linear; border: 0px; color: #8a8a8a; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.25s linear;" title="Posts by Nermin Hajdarbegovic"><br />Nermin Hajdarbegovic</a> | </span><span class="single-date" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Published on January 26, 2014 at 15:33 GMT | </span><span class="single-category" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://www.coindesk.com/regulation/europe-regulation/" rel="category tag" style="-webkit-transition: color 0.25s linear; border: 0px; color: #8a8a8a; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.25s linear;" title="View all posts in Europe">Europe</a>, <a href="http://www.coindesk.com/news/" rel="category tag" style="-webkit-transition: color 0.25s linear; border: 0px; color: #8a8a8a; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.25s linear;" title="View all posts in News">News</a>, <a href="http://www.coindesk.com/regulation/" rel="category tag" style="-webkit-transition: color 0.25s linear; border: 0px; color: #8a8a8a; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.25s linear;" title="View all posts in Regulation">Regulati</a>on</span></span></span></div></div><div class="article-share" style="border: 0px; color: #545454; font-size: 15px; height: 21px; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19.5px; margin: 0px 28px 30px; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><div id="___plusone_0" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px none; display: inline-block; float: none; font-size: 1px; height: 20px; left: 202px; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: absolute; top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 90px;"><br /></div></div><div class="single-content" style="border: 0px; color: #545454; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19.5px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 28px;"><div class="picture featured" style="border: 0px; float: right; height: 185px; margin: 0px 0px 10px 28px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; position: relative; width: 300px;"><img alt="sberbank-logo" class=" wp-post-image" height="185" src="http://media.coindesk.com/2014/01/sberbank-logo-300x185.jpg" style="border: 0px; color: transparent; font-size: 0px; height: auto; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px; vertical-align: middle;" width="300" /></div><span class="wpsr_floatbts_anchor" data-offset="31" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"></span><br /><div style="border: 0px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif !important; font-size: 17px; line-height: 1.3; margin-bottom: 17px; padding: 0px;">Sberbank may not be a household name in the west, but it just happens to be the third-largest bank in Europe.</div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif !important; font-size: 17px; line-height: 1.3; margin-bottom: 17px; padding: 0px;">It’s also the biggest bank in Russia and Eastern Europe, with nearly half a trillion dollars in assets and a workforce of 300,000.</div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif !important; font-size: 17px; line-height: 1.3; margin-bottom: 17px; padding: 0px;">The bank is owned by the <a href="http://www.cbr.ru/eng/" style="-webkit-transition: color 0.25s linear; border: 0px; color: #408bfe; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.25s linear;" target="_blank">Central Bank of Russia</a> and it is headed by German Gref, who served as the Russian Minister of Economic and Trade from 2000 to 2007. Gref’s tenure was marked by a period of economic reform and liberalization. Judging by his recent statements, he is still open minded when it comes to monetary issues.</div></div></h1><h2 style="border: 0px; color: #202020; font-size: 20px; font-weight: 500; line-height: 1.3; margin: 0px 0px 18px; padding: 0px;">Protecting bitcoin?</h2><h1 style="border: 0px; color: #202020; font-size: 40px; font-weight: 200; letter-spacing: -1px; line-height: 1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><div class="single-content" style="border: 0px; color: #545454; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19.5px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 28px;"><div style="border: 0px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif !important; font-size: 17px; line-height: 1.3; margin-bottom: 17px; padding: 0px;">This news follows comments Gref made about the currency <a href="http://www.coindesk.com/ceo-russian-sberbank-endorses-virtual-currencies/" style="-webkit-transition: color 0.25s linear; border: 0px; color: #408bfe; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.25s linear;">back in December</a>. Speaking in an interview at the sidelines of the <a href="http://weflive.com/?utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=2014-com-davos&utm_source=google&utm_content=gbl+2014+jan+20+wef+cpc&utm_term=world%20economic%20forum" style="-webkit-transition: color 0.25s linear; border: 0px; color: #408bfe; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.25s linear;" target="_blank">World Economic Forum</a>in Davos, Gref voiced his support for digital currencies.</div><blockquote style="background-color: #fafafa; border-left-color: rgb(252, 194, 5); border-left-style: solid; border-width: 0px 0px 0px 4px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 28px; overflow: hidden; padding: 28px 28px 0px;"><div style="border: 0px; color: #8a8a8a; font-family: Arial, sans-serif !important; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 17px; padding: 0px;">“It’s a very interesting global experiment that breaks the paradigm of currency issuance.”</div></blockquote><div style="border: 0px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif !important; font-size: 17px; line-height: 1.3; margin-bottom: 17px; padding: 0px;">He added that he had already made his opinion heard in government circles, by sending letters to the central bank, the finance ministry and to the very top, the Kremlin. In the letters, Gref asked officials to intervene with parliament in order to avert any bans against digital currencies, reports <em style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-01-24/bitcoin-gains-support-from-sberbank-s-gref-as-russia-plans-curbs.html" style="-webkit-transition: color 0.25s linear; border: 0px; color: #408bfe; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.25s linear;" target="_blank">Bloomberg</a></em>.</div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif !important; font-size: 17px; line-height: 1.3; margin-bottom: 17px; padding: 0px;">He said an outright ban would be a “colossal mistake”, adding: “It definitely shouldn’t be banned, it must be studied and maybe regulated properly”.</div></div></h1><h2 style="border: 0px; color: #202020; font-size: 20px; font-weight: 500; line-height: 1.3; margin: 0px 0px 18px; padding: 0px;">Colleagues aren’t convinced</h2><h1 style="border: 0px; color: #202020; font-size: 40px; font-weight: 200; letter-spacing: -1px; line-height: 1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><div class="single-content" style="border: 0px; color: #545454; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19.5px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 28px;"><div style="border: 0px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif !important; font-size: 17px; line-height: 1.3; margin-bottom: 17px; padding: 0px;">Although Gref sees an opportunity in digital currencies, many fellow bankers would beg to differ. JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon told reporters at Davos that the rise of bitcoin will prompt governments to clamp down and treat it like any other payment system.</div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif !important; font-size: 17px; line-height: 1.3; margin-bottom: 17px; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://www.vtb.com/group/" style="-webkit-transition: color 0.25s linear; border: 0px; color: #408bfe; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.25s linear;" target="_blank">VTB Group</a> is Russia’s second-largest lender and its CEO Anrei Kostin doesn’t share Gref’s enthusiasm, either. He described digital currencies as “quite dangerous” for the money market and stated that VTB Group doesn’t plan on getting involved.</div><blockquote style="background-color: #fafafa; border-left-color: rgb(252, 194, 5); border-left-style: solid; border-width: 0px 0px 0px 4px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 28px; overflow: hidden; padding: 28px 28px 0px;"><div style="border: 0px; color: #8a8a8a; font-family: Arial, sans-serif !important; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 17px; padding: 0px;">“Our monetary authorities are only now formulating their opinion about this,” he said.</div></blockquote></div></h1><h2 style="border: 0px; color: #202020; font-size: 20px; font-weight: 500; line-height: 1.3; margin: 0px 0px 18px; padding: 0px;">Russia’s ultimate plan</h2><h1 style="border: 0px; color: #202020; font-size: 40px; font-weight: 200; letter-spacing: -1px; line-height: 1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><div class="single-content" style="border: 0px; color: #545454; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19.5px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 28px;"><div style="border: 0px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif !important; font-size: 17px; line-height: 1.3; margin-bottom: 17px; padding: 0px;">Last week, a set of amendments introduced in the Russian parliament caused a fair amount of FUD (fear, uncertainty and doubt) in the bitcoin community, as it was<a href="http://www.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/1vd0yu/cryptocurrency_ban_in_russia/" style="-webkit-transition: color 0.25s linear; border: 0px; color: #408bfe; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.25s linear;" target="_blank">misinterpreted as potential bitcoin ban</a>. Russian regulators are of course keeping a close eye on digital currencies, as are their counterparts across the world. However, they have not taken any noteworthy action against the proliferation of digital currencies in Russia.</div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif !important; font-size: 17px; line-height: 1.3; margin-bottom: 17px; padding: 0px;">President of the Russian Electronic Money Association Viktor Dostov told Bloomberg that it is still unclear how Russia would regulate digital currencies. He stated that the only point of control would be an exchange centre where bitcoins would be traded for money. However, we are not sure whether Dostov is advocating the creation of a centralised exchange on a national level, or simply referring to independent bitcoin exchanges. It is a case of lost in translation.</div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif !important; font-size: 17px; line-height: 1.3; margin-bottom: 17px; padding: 0px;">In any case, Gref’s statements should go a long way toward reassuring bitcoin investors and enthusiasts in Russia and CIS member states for that matter.</div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif !important; font-size: 17px; line-height: 1.3; margin-bottom: 17px; padding: 0px;">It is also interesting to note that in a recent interview with CNN, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev admitted the country’s economy is slowing down, but pointed out that his government is gradually transforming Russia into a knowledge-based economy and introducing 21<span style="border: 0px; font-size: 13px; line-height: 0; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -0.5em; vertical-align: baseline;">st</span> century technology into various industries.</div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif !important; font-size: 17px; line-height: 1.3; margin-bottom: 17px; padding: 0px;">Whether or not Russia is ready to embrace 21<span style="border: 0px; font-size: 13px; line-height: 0; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -0.5em; vertical-align: baseline;">st</span> century payment systems and alternative currencies remains to be seen.</div><div class="single-tags" style="border: 0px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif !important; font-size: 17px; line-height: 1.3; margin-bottom: 17px; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://www.coindesk.com/tag/regulation-2/" style="-webkit-transition: color 0.25s linear; background-color: #ededed; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-left-radius: 2px; border-bottom-right-radius: 2px; border-top-left-radius: 2px; border-top-right-radius: 2px; border: 0px; color: #408bfe; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px 5px 0px 0px; outline: none; padding: 5px; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.25s linear;">regulation</a><a href="http://www.coindesk.com/tag/russia/" style="-webkit-transition: color 0.25s linear; background-color: #ededed; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-left-radius: 2px; border-bottom-right-radius: 2px; border-top-left-radius: 2px; border-top-right-radius: 2px; border: 0px; color: #408bfe; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px 5px 0px 0px; outline: none; padding: 5px; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.25s linear;">Russia</a><a href="http://www.coindesk.com/tag/sberbank/" style="-webkit-transition: color 0.25s linear; background-color: #ededed; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-left-radius: 2px; border-bottom-right-radius: 2px; border-top-left-radius: 2px; border-top-right-radius: 2px; border: 0px; color: #408bfe; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px 5px 0px 0px; outline: none; padding: 5px; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.25s linear;">Sberbank</a></div></div></h1></div></div>

Head of Russia’s Largest Bank Backs Bitcoin, Again

Nermin Hajdarbegovic  |  Published on January 26, 2014 at 15:33 GMT |  Europe ,  News ,  Regulati on Sberbank may not be a household name in...

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