From June, accredited private investors will be able to deal with digital financial assets (DFA) through Sberbank, which is the largest bank in Russia.
Sberbank is going to let people in Russia trade DFAs
Local news says that Sberbank will let clients use DFA to do business on its site.
But it should be mentioned that this offering was supposed to happen at the end of Q1 2023, but was moved to this month.
Anatoly Popov, the Deputy Chairman of the Board of the Bank, said that users would be able to trade using DFA and even exchange them for cash through this service.
In a version of the original post that was translated, Popov wrote:
“If we’re talking about individuals, then we think this function will open for individuals in June of the second quarter. People will be able to buy and sell digital goods that are worth money. So, make a trade for cash.”
The exact time when this service will go live has not yet been decided.
The blockchain is used for the issuing, accounting, and circulation of DFA. According to past information, Sberbank’s private blockchain will allow the use of smart contracts and will work with Ethereum, which is a platform for smart contracts.
Konstantin Klimenko said that their goal is to find a way to make DeFi (decentralized finance) processes in Russia easier.
Approvals slow down the process
In April 2022, the bank got permission to start producing and circulating DFA through a platform.
So far, Popov said, they have problems worth tens of billions of rubles. In the next few weeks, the largest borrowers should link to their DFA issuance and circulation platform.
In 2021, Sberbank asked the Russian government if it could start its stablecoin. Even though the Russian central bank has been against private cryptocurrencies and has been unwilling to let them start up, Sberbank is still working on its platform.
Taking into account Sberbank’s place in Russia’s financial world and the number of clients it has, its influence and recent changes suggest that the Bank of Russia may change its previous stance on cryptocurrencies.
Along with Sberbank, the Russian private bank Alfa Bank has also been given permission to make digital assets. Lighthouse, a Fintech company, and Atomyze, a tokenization platform backed by the Russian Federation, are two other financial companies that have been approved.
