Qiwi's CEO Will Head Up Russia's Distributed Ledger Efforts
A Russian fintech association tasked in part with exploring distributed ledgers has appointed a CEO.
Russia's FinTech Association, established in part to encourage wider exploration of distributed ledger tech, has appointed Qiwi chief Sergey Solonin as its new CEO.
Solonin will now lead the consortium effort, a role that will find him coordinating R&D efforts with the Bank of Russia, Sberbank, VTB Bank, Alfa Bank, Gazprombank, Bank Otkritie and the National System of Payment Cards (NSPK).
According to a release from the group, the consortium members will explore applications including digital identity, distributed ledgers and open APIs.
Solonin said in the statement:
For Qiwi, one of Russia's largest payment firms, the move marks a milestone in its efforts to launch a blockchain and distributed ledger working group in the country, which began in April 2016.
The firm is also now a member of R3CEV, a global banking consortium focused on blockchain and distributed ledger efforts.
To date, Qiwi has been among the more active firms in its efforts to explore blockchain, building a processing system based on the technology and experimenting with its own digital currencies as early as 2015.
Qiwi app image via Facebook