Russia’s Sberbank obtains crypto license from central bank

The Central Bank of Russia has given the country’s largest bank, Sberbank, a license to issue and exchange digital assets only two months after the central bank had called for a full ban on cryptocurrency.

Fast facts

• The move may allow Sberbank to dampen the effect of Western sanctions that are damaging the Russian economy, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
• Sberbank recently pulled out of Europe in the face of these sanctions, saying it was experiencing “abnormal cash outflows and threats to the safety of employees and branches” in its European subsidiaries.
• Sberbank said in 2020 it was working with JPMorgan for its own cryptocurrency Sbercoin, which is expected to be a stablecoin.