Russian Banking Giant Sber Issues Gold-Backed Digital Assets
In an attempt to de-dollarize investments and settle international trade, the largest bank in Russia, Sber, has managed to issue digital assets backed by gold. Sber’s blockchain platform has been used to issue the first gold-backed digital asset. However, the value of the tokenized precious metal will depend on the prevailing prices of physical gold, the bank said.
Sber Bank Mints Gold-Backed Coins
Russia’s
largest bank, Sber, has reported issuing gold-backed digital financial assets
(DFAs) on its proprietary blockchain. The coins were minted for Solfer, a
holding company specializing in the processing and trading of metals and making
products from precious metals.
The
Russian law "On Digital Financial Assets," which entered into force
in January 2021, allows companies to tokenize various assets. Sber Bank is one
of three "information system operators" authorized by the
Bank of Russia to issue DFAs, besides Atomyze and Lighthouse.
The
DFA issued for gold represents a monetary claim on the asset, Sber explained.
Its price and the obligations associated with it will depend on the dynamics of
gold prices, the bank elaborated in an announcement, noting that
this is the first transaction of this kind on its blockchain.
"We
were attracted by the new digital format for gold, and we decided to try a new
way to diversify the company’s balance sheet... "We think that a new
format of investment in precious metals can find its niche in the market,"
commented Maxim Nazhmetdinov, the chief executive of Solfer.
"The
deal demonstrates interest from the market and the real estate sector in a new
instrument that can become a good alternative to investments within the
de-dollarization of the economy," said the First Deputy Chairman of Sber’s
Board, Alexander Vedyakhin.
Sber to Expand DFA Product line
Pressurized
by sanctions over the war in Ukraine, Russia has been preparing to broaden its legal
framework for DFAs and also to cover decentralized cryptocurrencies. While
there is a consensus among regulators in Moscow against the free circulation of
bitcoin in the country, the government is considering legalizing crypto
payments in international settlements.
Sber
intends to expand the DFA product line in the future to attract more corporate
clients to its blockchain platform. According to an earlier statement by
Vedyakhin, the bank is planning to allow individuals to use the blockchain for
digital asset transactions in the spring of 2023.
Do
you think more Russian companies will start tokenizing various assets in the
future? Please post your comments.
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