Andrey Sharov, Vice President of Sberbank, recently shared his views on what the future might hold as a result of blockchain technologies.

Speaking at the Metro Expo 2016, Sharov predicted disappearance of banks by 2026 due to the development of blockchain technologies, Rambler News Service reported.

“In 10 years, there will be no banks, I'm afraid,” Coinfox translated Sharov’s comment. “Bank of England has established a consortium of 50 English banks rebuilding their banking models completely with the help of blockchain technology. I’ll have no place to work at”.

Sharov seems to have confused the Bank of England with R3 blockchain consortium which now has over 40 member banks. These comments come at time when the bank has been increasingly showing interest in blockchain technologies.

Last December, Sberbank’s First Deputy Chairman of the Management Board, told Kommersant that the bank is closely watching on the evolution of blockchain technology, while hinting at the possibility of Sberbank joining the R3 consortium.

Speaking before the ASI in January, Herman Gref, CEO and Chairman of the Executive Board, said that blockchain technology has the potential “to turn all the spheres upside-down: that of state regulation, functionality of the state in general, finance – every single one.”

Sberbank currently accounts for one third of its banking system, providing employment and a source of income for every 150th Russian family.

While Russia still maintains its anti-bitcoin stance, the country is quite optimistic about the blockchain technology. The Central Bank of Russia announced in February that it has established a Working Group on the analysis of advanced technologies and innovations in the financial market, with focus on the study of distributed technologies such as blockchain, and other payment technologies.

Internet advisor to Russian president Vladimir Putin German Klimenko said that the technology is amazingly interesting and that he expects lots of experiments in this space.

In February, Olga Skorobogatova, the deputy chairman of the Central Bank of Russia said, “In 2017-2018, we will see real examples of the use of this system [blockchain technology]…As a closed system, I think, [blockchain technology] is the future, and we need to prepare for it".