Russia's answer to Google, Yandex N.V., is planning to develop its own financial ecosystem, iHodl Russia has learned.
The tech giant has already registered 17 financial-related trademarks as a response to the recently completed reorganization of Joint Ventures with Russia's state-owned bank Sberbank.
Previously, Yandex exited the Yandex.Money Joint Venture. As a result, any financial services non-compete obligations between Yandex and Sberbank are now terminated.
Now the corporation wants to provide banking services, as well as enter the investment and insurance segments.
A Yandex representative did not tell about the timing of the launch of new projects.
"We often register trademarks or patents, but not all of them will find application in the future. This is a normal practice for large IT companies," the representative said.
As part of the financial ecosystem, Yandex may also enter into a partnership with a financial institution. According to experts, Russia's VTB Bank may become one.
iHodl earlier reported that Sberbank may issue its own stablecoin pegged 1:1 to the Russian ruble.
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According to Director of the Transaction Business Division of Sberbank Sergey Popov, the bank is considering issuing its own digital assets in accordance with the recently adopted law "On Digital Financial Assets."
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