Russia’s largest bank, Sberbank, has begun testing various decentralized finance (DeFi) products to meet the growing demand for cryptocurrency transactions among its customers. According to Deputy Chairman Anatoly Popov, the bank aims to develop digital asset products in collaboration with regulators, anticipating harmony between traditional banking and DeFi. While the Russian central bank initially adopted a cautious stance on cryptocurrencies, recent expansion in Bitcoin mining and increased cross-border crypto transactions have led to a relaxation of policies. Sberbank has also shown interest in public blockchains like Ethereum and plans to engage with DeFi platforms and asset tokenization. Valued at approximately $83 billion, Sberbank serves around 109 million retail customers and over 3 million corporate clients. This move towards DeFi signifies a shift in Russia’s financial sector toward modern technologies that could offer more transparent, efficient, and globally integrated services. Going forward, Sberbank’s efforts aim to promote broader acceptance and integration of cryptocurrencies and DeFi both domestically and internationally, although price volatility and regulatory challenges remain significant risks.
Source: binance
