Russia’s largest retail bank, Sberbank, has applied to its central bank soliciting approval for launching a blockchain-based platform. This will, in turn, support the bank towards establishing its digital currency. Following the report, the bank has applied to launch its cryptocurrency via the blockchain platform. The bank has applied to the Central Bank of the Russian Federation. The registration process demands 45 days, and the regulator will either accept the application or request comments in the timeframe.
The Deputy Chairman of the board, Anatoly Popov, said that the fundamental goal is to introduce the digital asset in the spring of this year. Popov also wrote Sberbank has concluded the technology’s internal examination and is available to work with such a fiat currency. If approved, it will launch the blockchain platform by spring. However, one potential challenge might be the absence of clarity about the taxation of digital assets in Russia.
Sberbank first displayed plans to launch stablecoin in August 2020
Moreover, the digital asset will be accessible for the companies banking with Sberbank, expressing interest in blockchain-based deals for some time. The Russian bank’s dive into blockchain did not come as a shock. It previously announced its intentions to come up with a digital currency last year. Sberbank is preparing to issue its stablecoin called ‘Sbercoin’ this spring. Sberbank first announced its plans to start its stablecoin back in August 2020. However, in mid-October, the Bank of Russia also declared consultations’ commencement on originating a digital version of the ruble, the country’s official digital currency.
Earlier last month, Sberbank declared a collaboration with JPMorgan for experimenting with its digital currency. Further, Sberbank is the first Russian mainstream company that has publicly announced an application for digital asset registration. Moreover, the Bank of Russia has been examining the feasibility of launching a Russian ruble-backed central bank digital currency (CBDC), the digital ruble.
Follow BitcoinWorld for the latest updates.
