Largest Russian Bank Sberbank Opens Developer Access to in-House Defi Platform

Sberbank, the largest bank in the Russian Federation, announced that it opened access to its in-house decentralized finance (defi) platform to allow developers to test its capabilities. Reports indicate that Sberbank’s Comunity, the Ethereum-based blockchain decentralized finance solution, will leave the open testing phase later this year.

Sberbank Opens Defi Platform for Testing

Sberbank, one of the leading financial institutions in Russia, has announced that it will be opening developer access for its in-house built decentralized finance solution, called Comunity. Alexander Nam, head of Sberbank’s Blockchain Lab, stated that now other developers can connect their solutions to the Comunity platform in a testing capacity.

Sberbank’s Comunity defi platform’s development was announced in February, when the service was already in closed beta testing phases, according to Sberbank’s blockchain laboratory product director Konstantin Klimenko. He also stated that Comunity was slated to start its open testing phase in March.

Sberbank’s Comunity is a Russian Ethereum-based blockchain development that seeks to link traditional banking services with cryptocurrency, allowing its customers to experience these services using Russian rubles and with the support of a regulated financial institution.

The bank received a license to issue digital assets on March 2022 and conducted the first digital transaction through its subsidiary Sberfactory. The transaction issued a one billion ruble instrument with a 3-month maturity.

State of Crypto in Russia

Sverbank’s blockchain conference also served to show the progress and popularity of cryptocurrency assets in the country. Data revealed at the event indicated that 17 million Russians, accounting for approximately 12% of the population, possessed cryptocurrency wallets.

Also, in the same way, more than 3 million Russians are actively engaged in cryptocurrency activities like speculation trading and staking tokens, showing that cryptocurrencies have penetrated the Russian market.

In an intervention during the event, Anatoly Aksakov, Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Financial Markets, offered some insight into how the Russian legislative body was dealing with cryptocurrency regulation issues.

Aksakov stated that the oversight of the cryptocurrency market in this regard is expected to be delivered to the Federal Taxation Service, a federal body dedicated to registering legal entities and natural persons as individual entrepreneurs.

Aksakov explained that taxing crypto was one of the most critical issues and that the State Duma strived to balance innovation and compliance with the upcoming cryptocurrency regulatory framework being discussed.