Recognizing the existing demand for non-fiat tokens (NFTs), Sberbank, one of the largest banks in Russia, now allows users to issue NFTs on its blockchain platform with The bank intends to enable users to issue NFTs on its blockchain platform. The financial institution also plans to work with art sites and galleries in the country.
Sberbank to give customers the opportunity to mint NFTs
At the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, Vice Chairman Anatoly Popov announced that the option for users to issue their own non-fiat tokens on Sberbank’s blockchain platform should appear in the fourth quarter of this year.
The high-ranking executive added that the Russian banking giant plans to start cooperating on projects with art sites, galleries, and potentially sports organizations for NFT releases related to games and tournaments.
Popov, quoted on the crypto page of RBC, Russia’s leading business news portal, said that this is something new for the bank and that they will do some testing first. In the initial stages, he added, the service will be limited because content will need to be adjusted.
Sberbank, Russia’s largest bank by assets, has created a blockchain platform after receiving authorization from the Central Bank of Russia to issue digital financial assets in March of this year. The platform is currently open only to legal entities, but in the last quarter of 2022, individuals will be granted access to the platform to issue, buy, and sell digital financial assets (DFA).
About a month later, companies were given the opportunity to issue DFAs evidencing monetary claims, purchase assets issued on the platform, and make other transactions with them, as allowed under current Russian law. The law “On Digital Financial Assets” came into force in January 2021. The Moscow Exchange is preparing to list DFAs by the end of this year.
While admitting that there is demand for the NFT, albeit limited, Popov noted that Russians have been successful in placing their digital assets on foreign platforms. He also noted that the launch of the NFT will raise many questions that need to be answered, such as the content that the tokens will represent.
In Russia, comprehensive regulation of cryptocurrencies is still in the works, as the current law applies primarily to coins with issuers. The new law “On Digital Currency” will be considered by the State Duma, the lower house of parliament, in the coming months. While most government agencies have agreed to leave the Russian ruble as the country’s sole legal tender, there are growing calls to legalize the use of decentralized digital currencies in foreign trade.
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