Russia’s Sberbank launches first blockchain ETF in the country

TL;DR Breakdown

• Sberbank, a significant Russian bank has announced the introduction of a blockchain ETF.
• The ETF will be tracking the institution’s blockchain index, thus exposing its clients to crypto platforms like Coinbase.

Sberbank- has confirmed the rollout of an ETF that will track their blockchain index. This ETF will help users track notable crypto companies like Galaxy Digital. This asset is the first of a kind there, and it allows the Russians to join the crypto sphere without the need to trade digital assets.

Sberbank targets to expose Russian clients to blockchain technology via an ETF

Sberbank has confirmed an active ETF known as the Sber- Blockchain Economy or SBBE. This ETF tracks the blockchain index previously made by the bank. The latter also involves securities of companies that deal with crypto and blockchain-related ventures.

SBBE also deals with organizations that produce crypto-mining tools and others that offer crypto consultancy services. The index’s portfolio’s big names are Coinbase, Digindex, and Galaxy Digital.

Regarding the SBBE, the bank’s General Director expressed that almost everyone has heard about blockchain and cryptocurrency atleast once in their lives. According to him, this technology is spreading, and its tremendous growth rate makes it overwhelming for individuals to track.

The Director added that direct investments into cryptocurrency have vast margins of losses. Therefore, the SBBE would be a great tool to help investors invest indirectly by backing blockchain companies rather than individual cryptos.

Russian crypto regulation framework still in the works

Recently CryptoPolitan reported that Russian Officials met at the State Duma to discuss crypto regulation. According to reports, some lawmakers do not want the government to impose a blanket ban, but the Central Bank wants it. Some Central Bank officials had met earlier to draft proposals for a crypto regulatory framework.

Therefore, the SBBE might be the best chance for the Russians to invest indirectly in blockchain in the case of a blanket ban. This ETF may save crypto-enthusiasts since the Central Bank revealed that a ban is their main regulatory proposal.

Earlier in 2021, The Chief of the Central Bank of Russia, Elvira Nabiullina, warned investors to be wary of the risks involved in crypto trading. She pointed out that the highly volatile nature of these assets exposes investors to Significant losses. According to her, buying into these digital assets is the worst investment strategy anyone could think about.

A few months after Elvira’s warning, Sergey Shvestov, a director in the Bank of Russia, also sounded a similar warning bell. He compared investing in BTC with willingly entering a minefield. Even though these are only individual reports of several Russian officials regarding the direction of crypto regulation there, it’s good to keep Watch. These officials significantly influence regulatory measures, and since Russia is a robust economy, its crypto regulation solution may also have a significant global effect.