Russia’s Sberbank to Test First Official State-Backed ICO This Year
According to an official report from Russia’s largest banking institution Sberbank, the bank in partnership with National Settlement Depository (NSD) will be testing out the first blockchain-based Initial Coin Offering (ICO) on the regulatory platform of Central Bank of Russia(CBR). It is just the last month of April 2018 when the CBR launched its blockchain platform for running pilots of bond exchanges and financial services using the decentralized distributed ledger technology.
Sberbank said that Moscow-based Level One, which is a commercial educational platform, will be issuing the ICO further adding that it “will act as the organizer and chief investor in the firm’s ICO.” On the other hand, the National Settlement Depository will be the custodian of the transaction which will register, store and maintain records of the digital assets.
The first coin-based transaction is expected to take place by late summer 2018 where settlements will be performed using NSD’s financial market infrastructure. The outcome of this experimental ICO will be used to launch new tokenized online services by Level One.
Additionally, the feedback obtained from the ICO participants shall be used in order to curb the risks associated with this tokenized method of fundraising thereby bringing more transparency in the ICO-market.
While commenting on the ICO test, Chairman of the NSD, Eddie Astanin, said: “Our end goal is to create the fundamental basis for the development of the digital economy in our country, for the emergence of a new type of asset for investors, for ICO ecosystems, and for the circulation of digital assets on the secondary market.”
Sberbank’s Senior Vice President, Igor Bulantsev, added: “Sberbank CIB considers the Russian ICO market to be very promising. Many Sberbank clients are interested in this type of investment, and we plan to promote this service proactively once the appropriate legislative framework comes into effect; we will be one of the drivers to institutionalize and popularize this type of transaction.”
Just last week, the Russian parliament approved new laws for regulating the cryptocurrency market. These laws are pertaining to both - digital currencies and ICOs by defining the cryptocurrencies and tokens as property along with laying out new specifications while interacting with blockchain and digital currency-related activities like mining and smart contracts. The new laws also state that for people not qualified as investors, the Central Bank of Russia can restrict the number of digital currency transactions.