Tinkoff Bank Wins ‘Digital Assets’ Operating Permit in Russia
Tinkoff Bank, one of Russia’s biggest banking players, has won a license to issue and sell “digital financial assets” (DFAs) in the country.
Interfax reported that the Central Bank added Tinkoff to its official list of approved DFA operators on March 28.
Tinkoff’s move comes weeks after its biggest rival, Sberbank, launched a DFA trading platform.
The Sberbank platform may eventually allow its customers access to certain types of NFTs.
The Central Bank launched its DFA register in February 2022, when it granted approval to the Atomyze platform.
Atomyze makes use of the Hyperledger Fabric blockchain protocol. It is backed by the blockchain-keen Russian metals mining giant Norilsk Nickel.
The metals firm this year made history when it became the first Russian firm to pay its employees’ dividends with a blockchain-powered coin.
Sberbank won regulatory approval for its own DFA plans in March 2022, at the same time as Lighthouse, a DFA-focused startup.
In 2023, the Central Bank added six IT startups to its register. It also gave the green light to Alfa-Bank, another Russian megabank. The latter won its permit in February 2023 and launched its own platform early last month.
Tinkoff has also invested in Atomyze, and will hope to leverage this relationship as it bids to make up DFA ground.
Russia's Tinkoff to take Rosbank retail clients as Potanin pushes integration https://t.co/nUlwxqHVWz pic.twitter.com/OCdviYU986
— Reuters Business (@ReutersBiz) March 20, 2024
Interfax quoted a Tinkoff Bank spokesperson as stating that the financial institution “sees great potential in the DFA market.” The bank said:
“We have accumulated extensive experience in creating […] technological products. These are used by millions of people every day. Using
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