Russia’s Sberbank Receives License To Issue Digital Assets

The lender said it had been approved for a license that would allow companies to begin issuing digital assets via its DLT platform

article-image

The Russian Sberbank bank in Brno, Czech Republic. Credit: Shutterstock

share

key takeaways

  • Russia’s central bank has granted the country’s biggest lender a license to begin issuing digital assets
  • Sberbank is under duress by US sanctions over the ongoing Ukraine-Russia conflict

Russia’s top lender has been granted a license by the country’s central bank to begin issuing digital assets following US economic sanctions that witnessed a seismic drop in the institution’s value earlier in the month.

Sberbank has been included in the list of information system operators, or approved companies, issuing digital financial assets, the lender said in a statement on Thursday.

The decree comes amid US sanctions against Russian financial institutions, businesses and individuals over the country’s invasion of Ukraine, which first commenced Feb. 24. Sberbank, which is state owned, is currently sanctioned by the US and European Union.

Those assets issued on the bank’s digital platform will be recorded and circulated via a distributed ledger technology system ensuring “data security” and data immutability, it said.

Companies will be able to issue their own digital assets, providing they prove they have the cash requirements. Companies will also be allowed to use digital assets issued through the bank’s information system, which will position them to invest their currently idle funds to generate income, Sberbank said.

“Companies will be able to make their first transaction on our blockchain platform one month from now,” Sergey Popov, director of the Transaction Business Division, said in the statement.

We are just starting our work with digital assets, realizing that further development requires adaptation of the current regulatory framework. To do that, we are ready to work closely with the regulator and executive bodies.

Sberbank lost 95% of its value on the London stock exchange at the beginning of the month. Other London-listed stocks, including Lukoil, Novatek and Rosneft, also suffered significant hits due to sanctions.

The lender has the largest market share of savings deposits in Russia and is the country’s primary creditor issuer. It has operations in several European nations, marking it as the largest bank across the continent’s eastern borders.

The question whether, or to what extent, Russian government-affiliated entities could use crypto to circumvent Western sanctions is a hot topic in Washington, with the Senate holding a hearing on the matter on Thursday. During that hearing, a bipartisan group of senators introduced new legislation aimed at ensuring Russia remains largely cut off from global financial infrastructure.


Start your day with top crypto insights from David Canellis and Katherine Ross. Subscribe to the Empire newsletter.

Explore the growing intersection between crypto, macroeconomics, policy and finance with Ben Strack, Casey Wagner and Felix Jauvin. Subscribe to the Forward Guidance newsletter.

Get alpha directly in your inbox with the 0xResearch newsletter — market highlights, charts, degen trade ideas, governance updates, and more.

The Lightspeed newsletter is all things Solana, in your inbox, every day. Subscribe to daily Solana news from Jack Kubinec and Jeff Albus.

Tags

Upcoming Events

Javits Center North | 445 11th Ave

Tues - Thurs, March 18 - 20, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

recent research

kamino cover.jpg

Research

Kamino has solidified its position as the leading money market on Solana and is emerging as a DeFi bluechip. Although DeFi competition is fierce, Kamino has kept iterating on its product to provide the best-in-class UX, paired with a robust risk management framework and battle-tested infrastructure. Given the rollout of Kamino Lend V2, the protocol may scale aggressively over the coming months, penetrating previously untapped markets in Solana DeFi.

article-image

MSTR’s stock price was roughly $248 at 2 pm ET Thursday

article-image

Ever since rates came off zero and fiscal deficits exploded, markets have started paying close attention to how the government is funding itself

article-image

Solana memecoins are collectively at an all-time high

article-image

Optimistic rollups like Optimism, Arbitrum and Base are seeing rapid adoption relative to zk rollups

article-image

Coinbase’s final total for Q3: $331 billion, the equivalent of 15% of the total crypto market cap at the time

article-image

T. Rowe Price’s technology ETF invests in companies across the hardware, software, internet and payments segments