Sberbank Set for First Digital Asset Transaction on a Proprietary Platform

Sberbank Set for First Digital Asset Transaction on a Proprietary Platform

A top executive revealed this week that Russia's largest bank, Sberbank, is all set to carry out the first transfer of digital assets on its own dedicated platform within a month. The announcement comes after the bank was authorised to issue digital financial assets, earlier this year.

First Transaction with Digital Financial Assets (DFA)

Sberbank (Sber) will perform the first transaction with digital financial assets (DFAs) on a platform developed by the institution within a month, Tass reported. The news agency quoted Anatoly Popov, Deputy Chairman of the Management Board of the banking and financial services company.

Speaking on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, Popov recalled that Sberbank, which accounts for about a third of all bank assets in Russia, has been included in the Central Bank of Russia’s register of information system operators permitted to issue DFAs.

"Digital Financial Assets" is the current term in Russian law describing cryptocurrencies and other digital assets. Additional legislation is on the way, with a bill "On Digital Currency," proposed by the Ministry of Finance to comprehensively regulate the country’s crypto market, likely to be adopted during the fall session of the State Duma, the Lower House of Parliament.

"We are watching the development of new technologies, including in the field of distributed ledgers. We are studying how blockchain technologies are developing, "Popov commented.

Sberbank’s Deputy Chairman also noted that the bank’s digital asset platform has already passed acceptance tests. A press release published in March detailed that DFAs will be issued and circulated through the platform that has been built with blockchain technologies.

Other companies will be allowed to use it to issue their own digital assets to attract investments. They will also be able to make transactions with DFAs under applicable regulations in the Russian Federation.

The law "On Digital Financial Assets," which has been effective since January of 2021, is the legislation regulating cryptocurrencies and tokens in Russia. While it introduced rules to govern activities such as the issuance of digital coins and fundraising through tokens, key operations with cryptocurrencies like mining and trading are yet to be regulated.