According to the latest information, Russia's largest bank Sberbank will begin to provide crypto currency trading services.
A 52% majority stake in Sberbank is owned by the Central Bank of Russia, which indicates that digital assets are gaining more and more acceptance in the country's financial environment.
The announcement also states that the bank's customers will gain access to digital asset services from June. That is, the bank will now allow investors to buy and sell cryptocurrencies.
It was reported that this development was originally planned to take place in April. However, the release date has been changed and the service is now scheduled to be available this month. In addition, Sberbank is preparing to offer its customers the opportunity to trade in digital financial assets (DFA), according to vice president Anatoly Popov.
Anatoly Popov, chairman of the bank's board of directors, briefed TASS about the new development. Popov also noted that customers can now buy and sell products backed by a mix of assets and securities, which the bank calls CFAs.
Popov also stated that the new feature will be available in June, different from the original timeline.
Popov talked about Sberbank's expectations for the newly developed feature. In particular, it announced that they will be able to issue digital assets worth tens of billions of rubles in the near future.
Sberbank is a majority state-owned Russian banking and financial services company headquartered in Moscow.
It was called Sberbank of Russia until 2015 (currently: Sber). It is the largest bank in Russia and Eastern Europe and the third largest in Europe, and ranks 60th in the world and first in Central and Eastern Europe in The Banker's Top 1000 World Banks ranking.
The history of the bank dates back to 1841, when the first network of state-owned savings banks was established in the Russian Empire.
*Not investment advice.