The Central Bank of Russia is considering using its Masterchain software to send SWIFT financial messages under the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU). The Russian FinTech Association, established under the supervision of the central bank, successfully carried out a trial of software based on Ethereum in 2016 and completed the final version in 2017. "We are actively discussing and we are exploring several high-quality technologies, including Masterchain. [...] I think we will discuss options for this project this year."- said Olga Skorobogatova, first deputy president of the Central Bank of Russia. Skorobogatova explained that Masterchain is being considered in the context of a broader analysis of how Blockchain could create a transnational payment infrastructure in EAEU, allowing the Member States to circumvent existing payment systems. The bank intends to first launch its platform in Russia and then implement it as a system covering the entire EAEU.
The Central Bank of Russia is actively involved in the Blockchain space and cryptocurrencies, with the latter being particularly rigorous. In 2017, the bank issued warnings about the risks associated with investments in cryptocurrencies and supported efforts to block websites selling digital currencies in that country.
Let's now take a look at the Bitcoin technical picture at the H4 time frame. Despite the initial breakout through the short-term descending trend line, the price was capped at the nearest technical resistance at the level of $7,500 and returned back to the local lows again. Any violation of the technical support at the level of $6,400 will lead to the test of the recent swing low at the level of $5,820.
