The authorities are afraid of blockchain and resist its expansion, beliefs Dmitry Marinichev, the president’s Internet ombudsman of Russia. He says the government is only keen to preserve the status quo.

In an interview to Belarussian media 42.TUT.BY, the official points out that the blockchain technology is especially relevant in situations of deficient trust because it keeps an immutable record of all transactions. Meanwhile, the traditional scheme of things where the state with its lawyers and courts is the ultimate guarantor of any interaction is made obsolete.

“Like any bureaucratic entity, the state would defend and guard itself against new technological foundations entering our life. This creates a complicated situation when something is beneficial for the society in general but not for its governmental institutions.”

According to Marinichev, this is typical regarding not only blockchain but any cutting-edge technologiy.

“In one way or another, the state always resists new technologies. Hence comes, for example, the fear of the threats from the Internet, which makes the authorities try to regulate the web.”

The ombudsman beliefs that in some form Internet regulation is necessary, but it should not run counter the emerging innovations. “The state is here to create conditions for the market to develop, to moderate the competition, to arbitrate and regulate.”

A similar point of view has been earlier expressed by Russian Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich in his speech at the Krasnoyarsk Economic Forum in February. According to him, “however promising the blockchain looks, there will be a need for the rules either, and somebody will have to define them.” Dvorkovich insisted then that this role should remain with the authorities.

Elena Platonova