Sberbank, Russia's largest state-owned bank, is working to launch the Sbercoin, its own stablecoin, by 2020.
Russian news outlet Vedomosti has reported citing Sergey Popov, director of the Transaction Business Division of Sberbank, that the bank plans to issue its own stablecoin this year.
Like all stablecoins, the token, which will be used to settle payments for digital financial assets, will be pegged to another asset, in this case the Russian rouble, to avoid the characteristic volatility of standard cryptocurrencies.
The announcement that the bank wants to issue its own digital currency later this year has not surprised anyone, as the Sberbank has been interested in the fintech sector for a long time.
Igor Kuzmichev, commercial director of blockchain developer Waves Enterprise, has said:
"Sber's specialists have been working on the technical and legal possibility of issuing Sbercoin as a settlement tool for a long time, therefore, undoubtedly, the adoption of the law on CFA [digital financial assets] will become a trigger that will significantly increase the intensity of work in this area."
However, it is still necessary to wait for the authorities to publish more information on the launch of digital assets, as the recently approved law only outlines the fundamental requirements.
According to this law, starting from January 1, 2021, all cryptocurrency-related operations will be legalized. However, neither Bitcoins nor other cryptocurrencies will be classified as legal tender. The current law does not contain the definition of "token" and "mining," but gives a definition of digital currency.
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