Two of Russia’s largest banks are testing cryptocurrency-based
investment options for retail investors, local news media
out Kommersant reported June 15.
As part of the Russian central bank’s ‘regulatory sandbox,’
Sberbank and Alfa-Bank opted to begin experimenting with
products based on so-called “digital financial assets” at
a meeting last Wednesday, according to the publication.
Those assets will in fact take the form of six cryptocurrencies –
including Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum and Litecoin –
which will form an investment portfolio.
The move comes as Russia prepares to enact binding laws
governing cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology,
which will see crypto become formally defined, legalized investment assets under Russian law.
Kommersant quotes Sberbank’s deputy head of
private banking Anna Ivanchuk as saying:
“We want to offer our clients a completely transparent entry
point for digital assets, fully in compliance with regulatory
requirements and which allows investment within Russia in a product that interests them.”
The new investment product will reportedly allow the client to
withdraw to fiat at will, with crypto assets being under the
control of partner Group IB through bespoke “custody solutions.”
“The client in actual fact receives a share of the fund,” Alexey
Prokofiev of AddCapital, another partner in the scheme, summarized.
Russia’s slow and at times unpredictable official stance on
cryptocurrency has led banks to remain hawkish on integration
of related technologies beyond blockchain experimentation until this year.
In late January, Sberbank announced that it was opening a crypto
exchange option for institutional investors via its Swiss branch.
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