Cryptocurrency Won’t Replace Money Due to State’s ‘Centralized Role’: CEO of Russia’s Biggest Bank

Sberbank CEO Herman Gref was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the Astana Finance Days, a Eurasian financial conference in Kazakhstan, when he was asked for his take on the advent of cryptocurrencies and their role as a method of payment, Russian news agency TASS reports.

“Do I see a prospect of global use of cryptocurrencies as an alternative to fiat money? I don’t see it and I said it many times,” Gref said, before explaining:

“I don’t think that the state is ready to yield its centralized role in emission of fiat currency to some other decentralized institutions.”