Cody McGrath 
Russian banking giant Sber is ready to close its first digital currency transaction employing the bank’s unique digital asset platform in the near future.
In an interview with the state-backed news agency TASS on June 15, Anatoly Popov, deputy chairman of Sber’s executive board, revealed Sber’s plans to conclude such a merger.
Following a series of registration delays, Popov stated that Sber was ultimately registered by the country’s central bank, the Bank of Russia, in spring 2022. Sber has been having trouble registering its digital asset issuance platform, which was supposed to begin in spring 2021 alongside its Sbercoin stablecoin.
While the recent report does not specifically address blockchain’s deployment on Sber’s platform, Popov stated that the bank is committed to researching the technology:
“We are looking closely at the development of new technologies like distributed ledger technology. We are studying how blockchain technologies are developing. Our platform has already passed acceptance tests, and the first transaction will take place within a month.”
VTB Russia’s second-largest bank is also planning to test the purchase of DFAs in return for Russia’s central bank’s digital currency, the digital ruble, in September 2022.
At the Saint Petersburg International Economic Forum on June 15, VTB board member Svyatoslav Ostrovsky reportedly disclosed intentions to develop a new platform for buying digital rubles.
On Tuesday, the Russian parliament passed a new bill prohibiting the use of DFAs as a form of payment for goods and services in its first reading.