A group of Russian experts is working on a new blockchain-based service to allow users to bequeath their cryptocurrency holdings and digital rights to the next generation. The National Technological Initiative (NTI), a global technical leadership program in Russia, announced a new digital inheritance tool based on blockchain technology, local news agency RIA Novosti reported Tuesday. The initiative brings together experts from three local universities, including Lomonosov Moscow State University, the National Research Nuclear University and the Moscow State Institute of International Relations. Dubbed “Time Capsule,” the service would allow users to store digital data and assets like social media …

Sberbank and VTB, the two biggest banks in Russia, are not willing to move into the cryptocurrency market in the near future as their CEOs believe that crypto is either too risky or fake money. Sberbank CEO Herman Gref said that cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) are probably the riskiest type of investment alongside the equity market. In a Thursday interview with local TV channel NTV, Gref claimed that a banking deposit is the best investment option as it is associated with the least amount of risk despite low returns: “A banking deposit is certainly the most reliable investment instrument. 100% …

Sberbank, the largest state-owned bank in Russia, has reportedly filed an application with the Bank of Russia to launch a blockchain platform for its “Sbercoin” stablecoin. Sergey Popov, director of the transaction business at Sberbank, announced the news on Jan. 21 at a local financial event Russian news agency Interfax reports. At “Digital transformation and prospects for regulating the digital economy,” Popov said that Sberbank applied with the central bank in early January, explaining that the registration procedure usually takes no longer than 45 days. As such, the bank may launch its platform and stablecoin by the spring this year, …

Senior officials at the Bank of Russia have come out against the issuance of private stablecoins pegged to the Russian ruble. Sergei Shvetsov, a first deputy governor of the Russian central bank, said that the bank aims to ban private firms from offering stablecoins backed by the country’s fiat currency. Russian crypto developers will only be able to use the Bank of Russia’s digital ruble, Shvetsov said. According to a Nov. 30 report by local news agency Prime, the he said that this approach follows the “philosophy of the means of payment’s uniqueness.” Shvetsov referred to China’s digital yuan-related regulations …

With a new law coming into effect in Russian, the country's largest bank is planning a new blockchain platform for trading, as well as a native token. According to a Monday report from Russian business news outlet RBC, Sberbank is planning to jump into crypto come 2021 when a new law "On Digital Financial Assets," or DFA, is set to come into effect. The news came from Herman Gref, the CEO and chairman of Sberbank. With over 96 million clients, the state-owned bank is the largest bank in Russia. There was speculation several months ago that Sberbank was looking into …

Sberbank, the largest state-owned bank in Russia, is working with a major domestic airline company to introduce a blockchain-based ticket sale system. Russia’s largest bank is reportedly collaborating with S7 Airlines on a new ticket sale platform that will enable corporate clients with instant settlement through smart contracts and tokens. According to an Aug. 26 report by local newspaper Kommersant, the new system is planned to roll out in September 2020. This would be the first time virtual tokens are used for payment and settlement in Russia, the report notes. As reported, the new system is only targeting corporate clients …

Sberbank, a state-owned company and the largest bank in Russia, is considering the possibility of issuing its own token, according to its key executives. Sergey Popov, director of the transaction business at Sberbank, says that Russia’s banking giant is thinking of issuing its own stablecoin that could be pegged one-to-one to the Russian ruble, local news agency Kommersant reported on Tuesday. Sberbank’s stablecoin would be compliant with the recently passed crypto law According to the report, the potential stablecoin could be used for settlements involving other digital financial assets. Popov reportedly noted that Sberbank would be able to issue the …

Russia’s largest bank, Sberbank, has called for tenders to provide 4,917 ATMs with a built-in graphic card capable of supporting “blockchain operations”. Cointelegraph spoke with two experts who said the most obvious use case for a blockchain optimized graphics card is mining cryptocurrency. Sberbank is Russia’s oldest and largest bank and holds almost 44% of all personal deposits in the country. It operates 14,200 branches and 77,000 ATMs across the country. The state is its largest shareholder and its Chairman and CEO, Herman Gref, was Russia’s former minister of Economics and Trade. He is known to be a big proponent …

Russia’s largest bank, the state-owned Sberbank, has pioneered a blockchain solution for repurchase agreements — also known as repo. According to a Sberbank announcement on Nov. 19, the bank has been awarded a patent for the solution, which uses smart contract technology to automate repo transactions between parties. Repo markets Repurchase agreements are widely used in wholesale funding markets and serve as a vehicle for banks and non-banks to access liquidity via short-term funding agreements that are collateralized by underlying securities. In a repo transaction, a bank (or other entity) buys a security and pays for the purchase by immediately …

Russia's largest bank, the state-owned Sberbank, has suspended its crypto-related plans due to the central bank’s negative stance on the industry, local news agency TASS reports on May 30. Sberbank vice president Andrey Shemetov has reportedly revealed the news at a recent press conference, claiming that Sberbank had been awaiting crypto legislation that would allow it to trade cryptocurrencies. However, Shemetov stressed that the local financial regulator and the central bank, the Bank of Russia, is against the adoption of the crypto space at the moment. As such, the bank had to halt its plans relating to cryptocurrencies. In the …

With the increasing trend for major financial institutions to invest in Bitcoin, United States crypto exchange and wallet provider Coinbase announced the launch of over-the-counter (OTC) trading for institutional customers on Nov. 27. OTC trading allows investors to carry out direct trades with each other. It means that the company’s institutional users won’t be trading through a crypto exchange or an intermediary. Coinbase’s latest trading initiative began on June 6, when President and COO Asiff Hirji explained that obtaining a regulatory license would enable the company to set off on a “path to offer future services that include crypto securities …

Sberbank and Interros Group have carried out an over-the-counter OTC foreign exchange repurchase agreement (repo) transaction employing smart contracts on a blockchain, Reuters Russia reports Nov. 30. The Interros Group is a Moscow-based private equity firm founded by Russian oligarch Vladimir Potanin in 1990, with stakes in Norilsk Nickel, pharmaceutical company Petrovax Pharm, and ski resort development firm Rosa Khutor. Head of global markets department and vice president at Sberbank, Andrei Shemetov, informed Reuters that the transaction is real, legally binding, and has been “concluded in electronic format using a smart contract and digital signatures through the IT platform of …