Sberbank, Russia's largest bank, is preparing to accept cryptocurrency as collateral for loans.

PANews reported on February 6th that, according to The Block, Russia's largest bank, Sberbank, is planning to launch a corporate loan product secured by cryptocurrency. A bank spokesperson stated that this move stems from strong customer demand and that they are prepared to cooperate with the Central Bank of Russia to develop a relevant regulatory framework. This plan follows a similar path to international banks, such as JPMorgan Chase, which is exploring such products, and Wells Fargo, which already offers related services. Late last year, Sberbank completed a pilot transaction with mining company Intelion Data, whereby the latter used its own digital currency as collateral, with the bank managing the collateral through its proprietary custody infrastructure and Rutoken hardware solution.