Russia’s Sberbank Says Crypto, Blockchain Services ‘Are the Future’

Russia’s Sberbank says that crypto and blockchain-powered services represent the “future” of banking in the country .

The comments came from Dmitry Malykh, senior vice president of Sberbank, in an interview with the newspaper Vedomosti .

Russia’s Sberbank: Crypto Has Potential

Malykh said that “of course,” “blockchain and cryptocurrency are our future.” The Sberbank official claimed that the “potential” of both blockchain technology and crypto “has not yet been realized” in Russia. He explained:

“We note that regulators such as the Central Bank and the Ministry of Finance are changing their attitude to cryptocurrency. That gives us reason to believe that the era when we can create simple services for clients using blockchain technology will soon arrive.”

Malykh was speaking in response to a question about the future of the Russian banking sector “in the next 10-15 years.”

However, he did not put a timeline on the rollout of blockchain-powered services.

The Sberbank official explained that Russians will soon use more QR code-powered payments.

He also predicted a rise in “one-click” online payments and biometric-powered pay methods.

The headquarters of Sberbank in Moscow, Russia. (Source: Igorkhait [CC BY-SA 4.0])

Malykh’s comments come four months after the bank launched a digital financial asset and NFT trading platform.

Sberbank unveiled a “qualified investors”-only blockchain-powered “digital asset” pegged to the average cost of residential Moscow real estate.

DFAs: New Growth Engine?

Major Russian financial firms have flocked to the so-called “digital financial asset” (DFA) market in recent months.

Some also appear to have been cleared to work with decentralized tokens like Bitcoin (BTC) to help overseas importers bypass Western sanctions.

For the moment, however, major banks are focusing their efforts on DFA offerings. Sberbank and several others have Central Bank permits “for the issuance, accounting, and circulation of digital financial assets.”

In December last year, JPF Investments, a subsidiary of the metal exploration firm Norilsk Nickel, issued digital tokens for four types of metals.

Individual investors, the firm said, can buy tokens each equivalent to 1g of metals, including platinum, palladium, ruthenium, and iridium.

The company launched around $28,700 worth of coins on the Norilsk Nickel-operated, blockchain-powered Atomize platform.