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Kremlin has no plans to use blockchain technology

Dmitry Peskov has also described the growing popularity of Telegram channels as "an emerging phenomenon"

© Sergei Konkov/TASS

MOSCOW, December 14. /TASS/. The Russian presidential administration has no plans to use the blockchain technology and the Telegram messenger at the moment, but may review its information and media strategy if necessary, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

In an interview with the Rossiya 24 TV channel, Peskov was asked whether the Kremlin planned to use advanced technologies, including blockchain, to process large amounts of data, such as questions from citizens for the Russian president’s annual question-and-answer session.

Read also

Vladimir Putin's take on cryptocurrencies

"I cannot answer your question, because currently it is convenient for us to use the technologies that we already have, we have no need to add anything. If at some point we realize that new inventions give us a chance to analyze a greater amount of information or process a larger number of requests, we, of course, will somehow try to apply those new technologies, but we feel no such need at the moment," he said.

He also said the Kremlin has no plans to open an official channel on the Telegram messaging app.

"[Vladimir] Putin has never had any trouble in delivering his point of view to the large audience," he said, commenting on the possibility of creating an official Kremlin channel. "That’s why using this or that media platform is absolutely irrelevant for him."

"We do not run Telegram channels, we read them. We are trying to analyze them and, no doubt, we report to the president about our analysis. In other words, we compile separate digests of Telegram channels," Peskov continued.

Read also

Putin's aide says time isn’t ripe for Russian state-owned cryptocurrency exchange

He described the growing popularity of Telegram channels as "an emerging phenomenon," adding that debates are still under way on whether to regard this trend as a sign of progress or a step back in the media sphere.

"I personally believe that it sacrifices the quality of information to speed," the spokesman said, adding that he preferred "more thoughtful," "credible" and "solid" sources of information.

"Of course, as the media sector continues to develop, the Kremlin and other state agencies will improve their strategies of work. We’ll see what happens during the next electoral cycle, when new state bodies, new administration and new government are formed," the spokesman said.

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Vladimir Putin Dmitry Peskov

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