Sberbank, a Russia State-owned bank is trying to roll out its decentralized digital asset and tools issuance platform, but has repeatedly failed to obtain regulatory approval.
Sberbank of Russia is Russia’s largest bank and a leading global financial institution. The bank is seemingly finding it difficult to secure a viable license and get regulatory approval from the country’s regulatory body, for its digital asset dispensing platform. The state-owned bank continues to face setbacks as its registration is being repeatedly delayed.
Sberbank CEO Herman Gref on Tuesday, in a statement released to the public, revealed that the bank anticipates that its digital asset allocation platform would be successfully registered with the Central Bank Of Russia and all relevant license would have been acquired by the end of the year 2021, Prime, a local news agency reported.
“The bank is in constant and sustained contact with the Central Bank of Russia and are ruminating on various important issues. We are optimistic that the platform will be registered and appropriate license will be acquired by the end of this year,” Gref said.
This new development comes after a series of announcements on the subject, of which Sberbank earlier this year had filed an application for licensing and express permission to launch its blockchain network for its Sbercoin stablecoin with the Central Bank Of Russia in January 2021. Sberbank director of transactions Sergey Popov at the time stated that the totality of the registration procedures wouldn’t take more that 45 days. He concluded that the bank was expecting to roll out its own local blockchain network platform and stablecoin by spring 2021.
After failing to register and obtain the relevant license by fall, Sberbank then released a statement stating that it planned to register its digital asset deployment platform later in September.
Russia’s regulatory body, the Central bank Of Russia has always been headstrong with regards to its anti-crypto stand , going as far as banning some banks from offering cryptocurrency investment services. In view of this Sberbank continuous failure and delayed plans doesn’t come as a surprise.
Although cryptocurrency has been declared ‘allowed’ in the country, it hasn’t been cleared to be used as a means of exchange for goods and services. If or when Sberbank succeeds in its endeavor , it’ll be the first of its kind in the country, setting a precedence that will be followed as well as breaking convention.
National Financial Regulatory Bodies Around The World And Their Stand On Cryptocurrency
Cryptocurrency has successfully diffused to different parts of the world, it has been accepted by the general populace, but it isn’t yet recognized as a ‘currency’ in most countries around the world. A country’s national regulatory body is in charge of regulations regarding cryptocurrency nationwide.
In the U.S, some states have integrated cryptocurrencies into their financial system, nationwide trading in cryptocurrency isn’t considered illegal. In the U.K while not being tagged illegal, cryptocurrency isn’t regulated for trading and other cryptocurrency derivative actions. In most parts of Asia, and Africa, Cryptocurrency related activities face heavy regulations that stymies the development of cryptocurrency in these regions. In Canada and South America ,cryptocurrencies are received with open arms as some countries have even recognized it as a form of ‘currency’.
In general most National regulatory bodies worldwide are still skeptical about cryptocurrency, but are working towards making ‘fair’ regulations and guidelines to secure its government and citizen’s interests.
