Reports issued by Russian media claim that Russian Railways might soon implement blockchain, taking advantage of applications like smart contracts and crypto payments for ticket sales. The Russian Railways firm RDZ may well be considering blockchain’s implementation into their system.
RDZ is among the best railway systems across the world, ranking consistently in the top three. The new decision might help to boost that rank further, and will definitely help Russia with making an impact on the crypto world.
Russia brings forth the regulations
The biggest problem so far has been the lack of crypto regulations. However, this is something that the country has been working to change. Russia parliament’s lower house, called the State Duma, recently supported three draft laws on cryptocurrencies. These three bills touch upon sensitive issues like digital financial assets, digital rights, and how to attract investors via investment platforms. It would seem that the bills were largely accepted, and there is a schedule for their official adoption by the end of the month.
IT expert, Pavel Tarentyev, commented on the new development that adoption of the drafts was probably what inspired RZD to make plans to implement blockchain and various applications that this implementation would bring. He added that this could bring complete automation when it comes to contracts and their fulfillment using cryptocurrencies. According to Tarentyev, the Russian Railways could issue as many as 5,000 smart contracts per month, once the blockchain technology is implemented.
Tarentyev stated that there is a strong possibility of using cryptocurrencies as a method of payment for tickets and other services. Through decentralization and payment via cryptos, passengers would have guaranteed anonymity and the use of blockchain would provide a perfect method of safely storing data regarding cargo transportation while reducing logistics costs.
There are still no official announcement as such since the bills are not yet officially adopted. However, some statements made by company officials hint at this being the plan. The company is already working on digitizing many of its processes, according to Oleg Belozerov, the company’s Director General. With the willingness to modernize, accepting blockchain would be the natural next step.
