Alfa-Bank, one of Russia’s largest private banks, have recently set up their own platform for handling digital money assets. Following the launch, the institution was registered with the Register of Digital Asset Issuers by the Russian financial authority.
Privately Owned Alfa-Bank Establishes Digital Assets Platform With Permission From Central Bank
Alfa-Bank, one of the predominant private banks in Russia, has recently launched its own platform for issuing digital financial assets (DFA) called ‘A-TokenEnterprise’. According to RBC, the Bank of Russia granted permission to Alfa-Bank to be included in the list of DFA issuers on 1st January 2021.
The approval makes Alfa-Bank the second largest institution in the nation that can issue digital currencies, after the state-owned Sberbank, which is the largest financial institution in the country in terms of assets. Other financial establishments that are currently approved to issue digital assets include the fintech firm Lighthouse, VTB Financial Institution, and the tokenization services provider Atomyze, which works in association with Rosbank.
Alfa-Bank plans to position its own DFAs on this platform, with a pilot launch scheduled for the end of February. Additionally, the institution intends to show its infrastructure to other market participants, working with both investment companies and individual investors. The A-Token platform is expected to be accessible via a mobile app.
Director of Innovation Denis Dodon further stated that the platform will feature two types of financial instruments: DFA equivalents in the form of financial rights and completely new financing instruments. Additionally, tokenized physical assets such as precious metals will be included.
Alfa-Bank had originally declared its plans to build an infrastructure for DFA back in September 2022. The situation was regulated by the law “On Digital Financial Assets” which came into force in January 2021. Although the law mainly focuses on digital assets that have an issuer, such as the ones issued by Alfa-Bank, the Russian government has also been forming a legal framework for decentralized cryptocurrency like Bitcoin.
Crypto funds have become a popular choice in Moscow as a way to avoid western-imposed financial sanctions. Ukraine has also created a digital ruble. Both Alfa-Bank and Sberbank have been sanctioned by the US Treasury Department, and the Russian government has imposed sanctions on anyone attempting to access crypto assets from the European Union.
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