In an interview to the newspaper “Kommersant” published on 8 June, the head of Sberbank German Gref told about his experience with cryptocurrencies and shared opinions about different aspects of this phenomenon. So, in answer to the question, for it or against cryptocurrency, Gref said that the Russian government, like any other, “will not leave the monopoly to issue money”, but admitted:

I look at bitcoin as a funding source for the development of such unique technology as the blockchain. In this sense, the technology is unique as inside it is built in a self-financing method. I think the ban of cryptocurrency is not the best solution for both technology development and to reveal the full potential of the cryptocurrency.

Gref also said that they did not use digital currencies at present, though, “earlier […] shopped cryptocurrency” because it was “important to understand how it works, what technologies, what’s her vulnerability”. According to him, the mechanism was “comfortable enough”. Apparently, the head of Sberbank recalls the episode of 2011, about which he once said:

I bought some bitcoins and paid for a t-shirt 12 bitcoins. Then bitcoin was worth $0,38, and the t-shirt is about $5. Now keep this shirt, because this is the most expensive shirt in my closet.

In the current interview, he said:

When the currency began to cost thousands of dollars, of course, looking back, you realize how much it increased the price of these goods. But I don’t buy the cryptocurrency, and anyone who doesn’t like to play in a casino, I would do not recommend.

Given all this, the chief banker of Russia excludes the option of the purchase and sale of cryptocurrencies in “Sberbank Online”, which reporters asked him:

Demand any is. […] The opportunity is there, the technology is there, but no, not considering. And what’s more, its customers not recommend, because the cryptocurrency market is very volatile, there is a lot to lose.

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