Financial innovation firm R3 leading a blockchain consortium of global financial institutions may open an office in Russia, Russian payments provider and consortium member Qiwi told RNS.

Speaking with the news agency, a Qiwi representative said that R3 is considering setting up an office in Moscow in the autumn of 2017. It is expected to have a staff of 10 people. R3, headquartered in New York, already has its offices in London and Singapore.

"In a representative office in Moscow R3 plans to establish direct communication with Russian financial institutions, administration of joint projects with participants from Russia and Eastern Europe, as well as integrate their own blockchain-platform Corda in the Russian Federation,” the representative told RNS (loosely translated).

The consortium is also planning to hold Hackathon in Russia, in collaboration with Fintech Association and Qiwi, in order to develop projects and applications on its Corda platform. In addition, it is also considering launching educational programs on financial technology and blockchain technology.

Launched in September 2015, R3 is an enterprise software firm working with over 80 banks, financial institutions, regulators, trade associations, professional services firms, and technology companies to develop Corda, its distributed ledger platform designed specifically for financial services. In May 2017, R3 announced the completion of the first two of three tranches in its Series A fundraising round, securing USD 107 million. The third and final tranche – which opens later this year – will be accessible to R3 members and non-R3 institutional investors.

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