Russia’s biggest bank launched a cryptocurrency

Since Russia invaded Ukraine, the country has been subjected to a slew of sanctions, cutting it off from the majority of its foreign currency reserves and the global financial system.

In the midst of it all, Russia’s largest bank announced the establishment of a cryptocurrency.

Trading in Sberbank shares was halted in London in early March, only days after the invasion began after they dropped 95%. As Western sanctions wreaked havoc on Russia’s economy, the lender was obliged to shut down its European operations. According to media sources, the Russian central bank permitted Sberbank to produce its cryptocurrency just two weeks later, on March 17.

In light of this, there has been speculation that sbercoin might become a discreetly accepted means of exchanging rubles for other currencies and circumventing restrictions. The sanctions caused the currency to plummet, prompting Moscow to impose capital controls. Russians hurried to protect their foreign currency holdings, resulting in the emergence of an underground market in dollars and euros.

While Sberbank can establish a cryptocurrency, Birla points out that it may not help move cash in and out of the nation.

Because exchanges utilize stablecoins like tether and USDC to trade into and out of other crypto-currencies, they’re famous – they’re among the top five cryptocurrencies by market value. According to a local news site, its CEO Herman Gref suggested at the time that the bank would consider launching sbercoin in 2021.

In September, Sberbank’s vice chairman indicated that the bank intended to register its blockchain ambitions with the Russian Central Bank. However, it hasn’t said anything about its crypto plans since then, and it hasn’t responded to an Insider request for comment.  Ruble-to-crypto trading volume has declined since the invasion. It jumped over 900 percent to over $70 million in five days – its most significant level since May 2021.

In their 2021 research, Chainalysis discovered that Russia ranked first for crypto adoption. As a result, large amounts of ruble-denominated crypto-trading may not always indicate attempts to circumvent sanctions.