Russia’s central bank may soon support the launch of digital mortgages on the Masterchain blockchain network, RIA news agency reported yesterday.
“In principle, electronic mortgages on a distributed registry are the basis for further launching a digital mortgage. The proposal was given directly to the government and Rosreestr — this is to finalize the process so that the full cycle of digital mortgage operations can be implemented on the Masterchain,” said Olga Skorobogatova, Deputy Chairman of the Bank of Russia in an online meeting .
The Federal Service for State Registration (Rosreestr)maintains real estate registries in the country.
Masterchain was previously used by the Raiffeisen Bank to issue a digital mortgage.
Launched in 2017, Masterchain was developed by the Bank of Russia along with Sberbank, Alfa-Bank, FK Otkrytie, Tinkoff Bank, and the QIWI Group. The platform is operated by the Russian FinTech Association and certified by the Federal Security Service of the Russian (FSB). It’s a variation of Ethereum, but uses Russian cryptography rather than U.S. standards.
Last year Coindesk reported that Sberbank was unhappy with the slow progress of the project. The bank has the largest market share in the Russian mortgage market.
The Masterchain platform is currently being used for a decentralized depository system for invoice accounting, a distributed registry of digital bank guarantees, digital letters of credit, and Know Your Customer (KYC) process.
Meanwhile, Figure Technologies has developed the Provenance blockchain, a loan securitization platform that initially focused on mortgages. It has launched home equity lines of credit and mortgage refinance products backed by blockchain.
Natwest Bank is working with Coadjute to streamline the mortgage process.
Elsewhere, the Dubai Land Department is working with Mashreq Bank on a blockchain-based mortgage platform.
