The First Accelerator For Blockchain And FinTech Startups In Russia

The University Of Innopolis and Singapore-based Life.SREDA Venture Fund launches the first accelerator, InspiRussia, to support Blockchain and FinTech start-ups in the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia.

This week, they have already held a workshop at the University of Innopolis and plan to hold their first Hackathon on September 17-18.

During the workshop on September 2, speakers talked about the use cases of Blockchain technologies and how they affect the development of the banking sector.

The World’s top FinTech expert, Chris Skinner, who is also CEO at Finanser.com and Chairman of the Financial Services Club, participated in the workshop. According to him, banks and financial authorities still have strong positions and are holding back initiatives fr om young startups. However, in reality, regulation has forced these startups to not really compete, but work together with banks and financial authorities.

Taking advantage of Blockchain

Marina Gurieva, head of innovative activity at the Higher School of Economics and a member of Blockchain Community, spoke about Bitcoin and its distributed ledger roles in modern banking system development, ownership registry, and micropayment transactions.

She said:

"Blockchain is useful in copyright, because the data on the authorship stored [in registry] can not be challenged. Blockchain-based technologies evolve, and more interesting projects that are being tested arise. They are local, but they can be scaled."

Following the meeting, Life.SREDA has agreed on a number of pilot projects in the Republic of Tatarstan. 

Now, Life.SREDA and the University of Innopolis plan to hold the first Blockchain Hackathon in Russia on September 17-18, wh ere participants will have the chance to win funds for their startup and support for their project in the InspirAsia accelerator.