Russia's largest bank Sberbank tests DeFi products

According to Dlnews, Russia's largest bank Sberbank is testing various decentralized finance (DeFi) products in response to the growing demand for cryptocurrency trading from its customers.

Anatoly Popov, the bank's deputy chairman, stated that Sberbank will work with regulators to develop digital asset products and believes that traditional banking and DeFi will soon merge. Although the Central Bank of Russia has previously taken a cautious stance on cryptocurrencies, its position has softened with the growth of Bitcoin mining in Russia and more traders using cryptocurrencies as a tool for cross-border settlements. Sberbank has also expressed interest in public blockchains like Ethereum and plans to explore asset tokenization and connections with decentralized finance platforms. It is reported that Sberbank has a market capitalization of approximately $83 billion, with around 109 million retail customers and over 3 million corporate clients.