Russia’s Industrial Giant Rostec Announces Blockchain-Based Alternative to SWIFT

Rostec, a Russian state-owned corporation, has created a platform that uses blockchain technology to facilitate international settlements between Russia’s partners and the storage and transfer of digital currency. CELLS is an alternative to SWIFT, the global payment messaging network. Many Russian banks have been removed from SWIFT as part of western sanctions.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has resulted in Russia being increasingly isolated from international finances, foreign currencies reserves and traditional payment channels. Moscow’s government has been working to make payments in Russian national currencies, such as the ruble or the yuan, in trade agreements. It is also exploring the possibility to use cryptocurrencies for international settlements. As Russia’s biggest companies and importers face difficulties with their U.S. dollars payments, this is a good thing.

Rostec Executive Director Oleg Yuvtushenko stated that a digital payment system built on a blockchain platform could be used to replace SWIFT and provide high-speed, secure, and irrevocable transactions. RBC Crypto quoted him as saying that CELLS would allow settlements to be made in national currencies. This will eliminate the possibility of sanctions and protect Russia’s financial policy regarding clearing.

CELLS is a Novosibirsk Institute of Program Systems’ (NIPS) product. The report details how the designers created CELLS to create an ecosystem of software products and services that use distributed ledger technology ( DLT). This allows international payments, multicurrency transactions and digital currency storage.

It will process 100,000 transactions per second and has the potential to grow its capacity. The creators promise that the system will use CELLS as a data storage system and platform for creating web apps. They also plan to implement a digital passport service, digital housing and communal services system, and other solutions.