The largest Russia’s bank confirmed its participation in the group of financial and technology companies to study and develop the blockchain technology. The consortium is being created by the Bank of Russia.

“We are now discussing it with the Central Bank. If the Central Bank and all participants agree, then we are definitely going to take part in it. But we are in active negotiations," Sberbank CEO German Gref said as quoted by TASS. According to him, “there is no final decision on the consortium yet.”

Several banking and financial institutions in Russia with payment system Qiwi and international consulting company Accenture are reported to join together to conduct the research and application of the blockchain technology and its derivatives. Among the banks that signed a memorandum of association are Binbank, MDM Bank, the bank “Otkrytiye” and Tinkoff bank.

A year ago, the country’s central financial regulator started a study of the distributed ledgers technology. Last month, the bank launched a prototype blockchain messaging system. They also introduced the initiative to create a financial consortium in order to test the new system.

As Deputy Chairman of the Bank of Russia Olga Skorobogatova previously stated, creating the consortium makes it possible to involve market leaders in the research, as the principles of blockchain imply partnership.

As CoinFox reported earlier, the new bank association would be based on a closed private blockchain which is being developed using the Hyperledger platform. The aim of the initiative is to explore the application of new technologies not only in banking but also in other sectors in the Russian economy and public services.

Lena Gabdullina