Russian Corporations Set to Form Joint Venture into Blockchain Development

Some of Russia’s largest corporations in varying business sectors have announced that they will be forming a joint venture programme to develop projects based on the blockchain.

The list of members who have formed this new coalition includes mobile phone giants MegaFon, USM Group, owned by Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov, as well as two state owned businesses; Gazprombank and Rostec. The joint venture titled MF Technologies is said to be worth $450 million. As well as this cash injection, MF Technologies will also have a 59% stake in one of Russia’s largest email service providers; mail.ru.

This new business venture is set to be focussed on providing digital financial solutions based on Gazprombank’s resources.

In a statement released by MegaFon, the telecoms giant stated:

“The creation of a joint venture by leading businesses in key sectors forming the infrastructure for the digital economy will allow the partners to efficiently develop cross-industry innovation projects including, but not limited to, blockchain- and internet of things-based solutions.”

Although this is not the first time that Gazprombank has delved into the world of blockchain, it is the first time that a coalition has formed using government backed resources in order to create these new digital projects.

This news comes after Russia uplifting a ban on cryptocurrency focussed news, showing the beginning of the country’s openness towards this new digital technology.

With this new blockchain and digital project focussed work coming from Russia, can we expect other global superpowers to start doing to same? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.