Russia's Masterchain: A State-Controlled Ethereum Fork for Business and Sovereign Data

Masterchain is Russia's first blockchain network built on a modified version of Ethereum, tailored to meet domestic GOST standards and certified by the FSB. It is not just a replica of Ethereum but a carefully reworked fork focusing on digital identification (KYC), handling tokens of real assets like real estate, and carrying legal weight for transactions. Developed by the FinTech Association with support from the Bank of Russia, its goal is to establish a trusted environment for banks, government agencies, and large corporations. The platform emphasizes integration with business processes such as electronic pledges, digital bank guarantees, factoring, letters of credit, and tokenization of property. Essentially, it is a private version of Ethereum under state control where all participants are verified, unlike public Ethereum, which offers anonymity. This exemplifies how Ethereum technologies are adapted for sovereign digital platforms.