The largest bank in Russia, Sberbank has today unveiled it’s Blockchain-based platform and carried out the first digital transaction on the platform. The bank is majority-owned by the government and had successfully applied for and received an operational license to issue and exchange digital assets.
The bank had pulled out from European markets because of the economic sanctions imposed on Russia by the European Union and world economic powers following their invasion of Ukraine. Sberbank had applied in January to launch a stable coin to be known as “Sbercoin” and had also confirmed that the bank will allow other companies to issue their own cryptocurrency assets.
The news of the new Sberbank Blockchain platform was announced today by Anatoly Popov, deputy chairman of the bank. Anatoly also disclosed that the first transaction was carried out with it’s subsidiary company, SberFactoring.
The transaction was the execution of a one billion rubble issue ($15 million dollars) with a maturity period of three months. He went on to mention that Sberbank had begun to conduct research in their Blockchain laboratory since 2018 and the result of those researches are now being translated into industrial solutions that will serve the Russian business module in the midst of war-related economic sanctions.
He also confirmed that the launch of the platform was executed in close cooperation with the Bank of Russia who have long voiced their skepticism over cryptocurrency but are more open to the adoption of other digital assets.
The announcement is the beginning of series of financial moves being made by Russian financial companies to adopt cryptocurrency as an important financial cornerstone of their operations.
The Bank of Russia had given Atomyze Russia the first license to exchange digital assets this year and last month, Russia’s second-largest bank, VTB Factoring partnered with Fintech company, Lighthouse to execute it’s first money-backed digital asset transaction.
Demand for hardware wallets are also soaring in Russia and these are all enough proof that cryptocurrency’s decentralization is offering a bypass for Russia and it’s citizens against the numerous economic sanctions imposed on the European state by the forces that be.
Featured image source: The Coin Republic
