Sberbank, Russia’s biggest bank, is diving deeper into the world of digital finance by testing decentralized finance (DeFi) tools and offering new investment products tied to cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum.

At a recent tech conference in Moscow focused on AI and blockchain, Sberbank’s top executives revealed their strategy to grow in the digital asset space. This includes building blockchain infrastructure, offering crypto-based investment products, and working closely with regulators to make sure everything stays within legal boundaries.

One major goal is to make it easier for experienced investors to access digital assets through the bank’s existing services. Sberbank is working with the Bank of Russia and Rosfinmonitoring to create a clear and safe framework for these services, ensuring investor protection while maintaining financial stability.

The bank has already started experimenting with DeFi tools. Executives believe that traditional banking and decentralized finance will eventually come together as the industry evolves.

Currently, Sberbank offers financial products called structured bonds and digital financial assets (DFAs) that are connected to the performance of cryptocurrencies. These let investors benefit from crypto price movements without needing to buy or hold the actual digital coins.

They’ve also launched digital asset funds that track indexes based on Bitcoin and Ethereum. In addition, their investment portfolio includes exposure to other popular cryptocurrencies such as Solana, Tron, Avalanche, and BNB.

Sberbank has issued several crypto-linked bonds both on stock exchanges and through direct over-the-counter sales. These bonds have returns based on the performance of Bitcoin and Ethereum indexes. So far, these crypto-tied investments have reached about 1.5 billion rubles in volume—a solid start for this emerging market.

Although Sberbank isn’t adding cryptocurrencies to its own balance sheet for speculative gain, it’s prepared to act as a liquidity provider and market maker on regulated platforms once the rules are fully defined.

The bank notes that crypto interest in Russia remains high. The central bank predicts that Russians could hold hundreds of billions of rubles in digital assets by early 2025.

Alongside offering crypto investment products, Sberbank is also developing its own blockchain platform. This in-house system supports smart contracts and tokenization tools for businesses. It’s already been used to issue digital assets tied to both commodities and cryptocurrency indexes.

Looking ahead, Sberbank sees huge potential in stablecoins, tokenized assets, and better connections between private and public blockchains. The bank is especially interested in public blockchains like Ethereum because of their advanced smart contract features. However, full integration depends on how regulations develop in the near future.

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