Russian Sberbank allowed users to release NFTs on its Blockchain platform
Sberbank, one of Russia’s largest banks, now intends to allow users to release it on its blockchain platform. The financial institution also plans to collaborate with technical sites and exhibitions across the country.
Sberbank plans to give customers a chance to mint NFTs
Bank Vice President Anatoly Popov revealed during the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok that the option that provides users with an opportunity to issue non-replaceable codes should appear on Sberbank’s blockchain platform in the fourth quarter of the year.
The senior executive added that the Russian banking giant plans to start collaborating on projects with technical sites, exhibitions and potential sports organizations for NFT releases related to games and tournaments.
Citing the encryption page of Russia’s leading business news portal RBC, Popov noted that this is something new for the bank that will first run some tests. At the initial stage, the service would be limited by the need to modify content.
Sberbank, Russia’s largest bank by assets, established its blockchain platform after it received permission from the Central Bank of Russia to issue digital financial assets in March this year. The platform is currently only open to legal entities, but in the fourth quarter of 2022, individuals will also be given access and allowed to issue, buy and sell digital financial assets (DFAs).
About a month later, companies were given the opportunity to issue DFAs that certify cash claims, purchase assets issued on the platform, as well as conduct other transactions with them, as permitted under current Russian legislation. The “Digital Financial Assets” Act came into force in January 2021. The Moscow Stock Exchange is preparing to list DFAs by the end of this year.
Despite limited demand for NFTs, Popov noted that Russians successfully put digital assets on foreign platforms. He also noted that the launch of NFTs raises many questions that need to be answered, including with regard to the content represented by the codes.
Russia has yet to comprehensively regulate cryptocurrencies as the current law applies mainly to coins that have a issuer. A new law “On digital currency” will be reviewed in the State Duma, the lower house of parliament, in the coming months. While most government institutions agree that the Russian ruble should remain the country’s only legal tender, calls for the decentralization of digital currencies in foreign trade have escalated.