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Sberbank to Conduct First Digital Asset Transaction on Own Platform

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Sberbank to Conduct First Digital Asset Transaction on Own Platform

Russia’s largest bank, Sberbank, is going to carry out the first transfer of digital assets on its own dedicated platform within a month, a top executive revealed this week. The announcement comes after earlier this year, the bank was authorized to issue digital financial assets.

Sberbank Prepares for Deal With Digital Financial Assets on Proprietary Platform


Russian majority state-owned bank Sberbank (Sber) will perform the first transaction with digital financial assets (DFAs) on a platform developed by the institution within a month, Tass reported. The news agency quoted Anatoly Popov, deputy chairman of the Management Board of the banking and financial services company.

Speaking on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, the high-ranking executive reminded that Sberbank, which accounts for about a third of all bank assets in Russia, was added to the Central Bank of Russia’s register of information system operators permitted to issue DFAs this spring.

‘Digital financial assets’ is the current term in Russian law describing cryptocurrencies and other digital assets. Additional legislation is on the way, with a bill “On Digital Currency,” proposed by the Ministry of Finance to comprehensively regulate the country’s crypto market, likely to be adopted during the fall session of the State Dima, the lower house of parliament.

“We are watching the development of new technologies, including in the field of distributed ledgers. We are studying how blockchain technologies are developing,” Popov commented. “Currently, there are many projects using them, and in Sber, of course, too.”

Sberbank’s deputy chairman also noted that the bank’s digital asset platform has already passed acceptance tests. A press release published in March detailed that DFAs will be issued and circulated through the platform which has been built with blockchain technologies.

Other companies will be allowed to use it to issue their own digital assets to attract investments. They will also be able to make transactions with DFAs under applicable regulations in the Russian Federation.

For now, the law “On Digital Financial Assets,” which went into force in January of 2021, is the main piece of legislation regulating cryptocurrencies and tokens in Russia. While it introduced rules to govern activities such as the issuance of digital coins and fundraising through tokens, key operations with cryptocurrencies like mining and trading are yet to be regulated.

Do you expect other Russian banks to start working with digital assets? Tell us in the comments section below.

Anonymous Allegedly Hacks Sberbank, Russia’s Largest Bank

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Anonymous Allegedly Hacks Sberbank, Russia’s Largest Bank

Hacktivist collective Anonymous has allegedly breached the systems of one of the largest financial institutions in Russia, Sberbank. The attackers announced on social media they have published thousands of emails, phone numbers, and addresses.

Anonymous Hackers Reportedly Gain Access to Sberbank Database


Decentralized hacking group Anonymous claims to have hacked Sberbank. A Twitter account associated with the collective, @YourAnonOne, announced the attack earlier this week, noting the institution is the largest bank in the Russian Federation and the region of Eastern Europe.


Moscow-headquartered Sberbank, currently called Sber, is a majority state-owned banking and financial services company with a presence in several European nations, mostly in the post-Soviet space. Western sanctions imposed over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have affected its operations. At the end of February, Sberbank Europe said it was leaving the European market.

A tweet from another account linked to Anonymous detailed that the hackers have acquired and leaked 5,030 emails, addresses, and phone numbers from the compromised database. Sberbank, which reportedly accounts for around a third of all bank assets in Russia, has not yet commented on these claims.

The post redirects to an archive with five Excel files, crypto news outlet Forklog reported on Friday. They contain information about the bank’s free safe deposit boxes as of June 14, 2016, a register of property and partner appraisers, a list of the types of traded futures contracts, and a blank template of a certificate of property status and current obligations.

Shortly after the Russian armed forces crossed the Ukrainian border in late February, Anonymous declared a cyberwar on Russia, vowing to disrupt the country’s internet. It has since targeted the websites of the Kremlin, the State Duma, and the Ministry of Defense, attacked Russian TV channels, and released millions of leaked emails.

In March, the hacktivist collective said it has published 28GB of documents belonging to the Central Bank of Russia, including some of the monetary authority’s “secret agreements.” In early May, the Anonymous-affiliated hacking group Network Battalion 65 (NB65) announced it hit the popular Russian payment processor Qiwi.

Do you think Anonymous will continue to attack Russian targets? Share your expectations in the comments section below.

Russia’s Sberbank Denies Involvement in Recently Launched ‘Sbercoin’

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Russia’s Sberbank Denies Involvement in Recently Launched ‘Sbercoin’

Sberbank, the largest bank in the Russian Federation, has denied connection to a new cryptocurrency called “sbercoin.” The project is offering high returns to buyers of the token, which was launched shortly after Bank of Russia allowed Sberbank to issue digital currencies.

Sbercoin Traded on Pancakeswap Exchange, Not Issued by Sberbank

A crypto project called Sbercoin.Finance has been promising investors up to 383,025.80% fixed annual percentage yield (APY) on the money they put into a token allegedly linked to Sberbank, Russia’s majority state-owned and largest banking institution.

“Sbercoin,” advertised as the “world’s first auto staking & USDT rewards token,” was listed on the decentralized exchange Pancakeswap last month and has since lost most of its value. According to Coinmarketcap, it’s currently trading at $0.00006674 per coin.

The SBER token was launched on March 17, the day the Central Bank of Russia (CBR) authorized Sberbank to issue digital financial assets, a term encompassing cryptocurrencies under current Russian law. The move came amid tightening Western sanctions over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

To substantiate their claimed association with Sberbank, the sbercoin issuers have linked an article on Twitter by the Business Insider covering the launch of the crypto along with the licensing of Sberbank by the CBR. However, the publication quoted a spokesperson for the bank who said it had no links with the token.

Representatives of the financial institution denied such connection in comments to Forklog as well. They clarified that the “official sbercoin” had not been released yet, the crypto news outlet added. In 2020, Sberbank CEO Herman Gref revealed the bank was joining forces with U.S. giant JPMorgan to develop its own cryptocurrency.

In January 2021, the Moscow-headquartered banking and financial services company filed an application with the CBR to launch a stablecoin, likely pegged to the Russian national fiat, the ruble. In February, a financial market source told Reuters that Sberbank was preparing to launch its sbercoin.

Then Russia invaded Ukraine and the West imposed unprecedented sanctions which targeted the Russian financial system. Sberbank is among the affected entities and the future of its cryptocurrency is unclear. JPMorgan announced in March it’s winding down business in Russia.

Do you expect Sberbank to issue its own sbercoin in the near future? Tell us in the comments section below.

Bank of Russia Allows Sberbank to Issue Digital Financial Assets

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Bank of Russia Allows Sberbank to Issue Digital Financial Assets

Sberbank, Russia’s largest bank, has been authorized by the country’s monetary policy regulator to issue digital financial assets. The move comes amid tightening Western sanctions over the war in Ukraine, including limiting Moscow’s access to the global financial market.

Sberbank Added to Central Bank’s Register of Crypto Asset Issuers


The Central Bank of Russia (CBR) has added Sberbank, the country’s leading banking institution, to its register of information system operators permitted to issue digital financial assets (DFAs). The term is used to describe various types of cryptocurrencies in the country’s current legislation. On Thursday, the commercial bank confirmed the news and elaborated:

Accounting and circulation of DFAs issued on the Sber digital asset platform will take place in an information system created on the basis of a distributed ledger using blockchain technology, which guarantees data security and the impossibility of information substitution.


The majority state-owned banking and financial services company detailed that other legal entities will be able to issue their own digital assets certifying monetary claims to attract investments. Businesses will also acquire DFAs issued on Sberbank’s platform and make other transactions with them under applicable regulations.

The law “On Digital Financial Assets,” which went into force in January 2021, regulated several crypto-related activities, including the issuance of digital coins and fundraising through tokens. However, it did not introduce rules for other key operations with cryptocurrencies such as their mining, trading, and circulation in the Russian economy.

A working group at the State Duma, the lower house of parliament, has been preparing proposals to address the regulatory gaps. In February, the Ministry of Finance submitted a new draft law “On Digital Currency” which aims to legalize crypto investments but at the same time, cement a ban on the use of cryptocurrencies for payments in Russia.

Amid mounting sanctions over the invasion of Ukraine, including in the financial sphere, concerns have been raised in the West that the Russian government and sanctioned individuals may turn to crypto assets as a tool to circumvent the restrictions.

Recent statements by a member of the regulatory working group in Moscow have confirmed Russia’s interest in employing digital currencies to restore its access to global finances. Russian officials now proceed with efforts to legalize the country’s crypto space.

Do you expect Russia to bet on expanding its crypto sector amid financial sanctions? Share your thoughts on the subject in the comments section below.

Sberbank Launches First Blockchain ETF in Russia

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Sberbank Launches First Blockchain ETF in Russia

Russian banking giant Sberbank has presented the country’s first exchange-traded fund (ETF) giving investors access to the blockchain space. The new instrument holds securities of companies dealing with cryptocurrencies and the technologies that underpin them.

Sberbank Introduces ETF Tracking Blockchain Economy Index

The largest banking and financial services provider in Russia and the post-Soviet space, Sberbank, has announced the launch of a blockchain ETF. The new product, called ‘Sber – Blockchain Economy,’ aims to provide Russian investors with an opportunity to profit from the crypto sector without the need to get involved directly in the development, acquisition, storage, and sale of digital assets.

The ETF tracks the Sber Blockchain Economy Index which includes securities of companies operating with cryptocurrencies and blockchain technologies. “Today, they are used in a variety of industries and solve a variety of problems — from protecting personal data and confirming copyright to creating platforms for the internet of things and online voting,” the bank explained.

Among those covered by the index are producers of crypto mining hardware and software, entities issuing crypto assets, and businesses providing consulting services in the field of blockchain, the state-owned bank added. Well-known names in the space, like crypto exchange Coinbase, blockchain software developer Digindex, and crypto financial services provider Galaxy Digital, are on the list.

Sberbank emphasized that its blockchain economy ETF (ticker: SBBE) is the first of this kind on the Russian stock market. The fund’s currency is U.S. dollars but investors can buy shares with Russian rubles through the Sberinvestor application or with the help of any Russian broker, the bank detailed. The price of shares starts at 10 rubles.

The crypto-related instrument is being introduced after the head of the Central Bank of Russia, Elvira Nabiullina, stated in October that the monetary authority is not prepared to allow the trading of a bitcoin ETF in the Russian Federation. In December, the governor reiterated the regulator’s hardline stance on cryptocurrency investments and a report revealed that the CBR wants to block card payments to crypto exchanges.

“We don’t see a place for cryptocurrency in the Russian financial market,” Nabiullina’s deputy, Vladimir Chistyukhin, was quoted as saying by Russian media. Earlier this year Bank of Russia advised stock exchanges to avoid the listing and trading of instruments tied to crypto assets, changes in crypto indices, as well as the value of crypto derivatives and securities of cryptocurrency funds.

Do you expect to see other offerings such as Sberbank’s blockchain ETF in Russia? Tell us in the comments section below.