Russia’s largest state-owned bank Sberbank is mulling over the idea of issuing their stablecoin reported a local daily. Many believe the decision was prompted by the recent signing of a new cryptocurrency law by President Putin. The director of transaction business Sergey Popov confirmed the same and said that if everything goes as planned, the latest stablecoin could be pegged one to one against Russian Rubel. Popov said:
“Probably, we can issue based on the law that has been adopted, a token that we can peg to the ruble, such a corresponding stablecoin, which can become the basis, an instrument for settlements for some other digital financial assets.”
The reports suggest that the new stablecoin could be used to buy digital assets, and will be issued, under this new law, by the end of July. As per the new law,
“digital rights are understood as digital rights, including monetary claims, the possibility of exercising rights under equity securities, the right to participate in the capital of a non-public JSC, and the right to demand the transfer of equity securities.”
It is also important to note that the new law prohibits the use of digital assets as a means of payment, and the new law is expected to come to force by January 1st, 2021. However, crypto-to-crypto transactions buying and selling, as well as loans in crypto, are entirely legal.
Sberbank Has Been Waiting Since 2018 For a Cryptocurrency Law
The DFA law was implemented in 2018 when the government was pondering over categorizing crypto assets with the findings as treasure and regulate it the way they have regulated treasure hunts. However, the government went back and forth many times before arriving at the final version signed by President Putin.
Sberbank has been in waiting since 2018, given the bank has been involved in crypto-related initiatives in the country. In May this year, the Sberbank invested around $100 million for 5000 blockchain-enabled ATMs, which can also mine cryptocurrencies. Back in November 2019, the largest bank in Russia developed a blockchain solution for repurchase agreements.
