Sberbank bets on blockchain-AI fusion as future of finance

Russian financial giant Sberbank is focusing its efforts on the development of blockchain and artificial intelligence, according to one of its top executives.

The banker believes that the combination of the two will form the core of his organization’s business in a future of competition with decentralized finance.

Sberbank is betting on blockchain and AI technologies

Sber, Russia’s largest bank by assets, better known as Sberbank, is actively developing blockchain technologies as it views them as the future of financial markets.

Alexander Vedyakhin, first deputy chairman of its management board, made the announcement in an interview for Russian television and commented further:

“This is the future of our business. Imagine a combination of AI and blockchain. So, I decide to buy something, and then sell something else. The decision is made by AI, and the buying and selling are based on blockchain technologies, smart contracts and their execution. That’s all.”

“This means that in the near future we will see DAOs,” he added in conversation with RT, suggesting that decentralized autonomous organizations may soon emerge on the Russian market, while highlighting that such structures conduct business independently.

Vedyakhin insisted that the new economy will be based on the symbiosis between artificial intelligence and blockchain, and that explains Sberbank’s focus on development in these two fields.

At the same time, Sber makes a distinction between blockchain technology and cryptocurrency, he remarked, elaborating:

“With cryptocurrencies, you really need to be very careful and cautious due to the large number of cybercrimes in this area.”

Also quoted by the Russian online news outlet Gazeta.ru, the banker claimed that private blockchains represent a more secure technology, as they operate within companies and with trusted partners.

Sber is leading the pack in Russia’s digital finance sector

The majority state-owned Sberbank used to be the largest bank not just in the Russian Federation, but in many other parts of the region as well.

The Russian giant had a significant presence throughout Central and Eastern Europe before pulling out as a result of Western sanctions imposed over the war in Ukraine.

Since its rebranding to Sber in 2020, the Moscow-based banking and financial firm has been investing heavily in digital services and is the current leader in Russian digital finance.

This past spring, right after the Central Bank of Russia allowed the offering of crypto derivatives to qualified investors in May, Sberbank was among the first to offer such products on the Russian market.

In early September, Sber announced it’s launching a perpetual digital financial asset (DFA), as defined in Russian law, based on a basket of the two leading cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH).

In October, the bank reported registering high demand for such instruments, after raising 1.3 billion rubles ($16 million) from the sale of bonds and DFAs on BTC and ETH indices, as well as DFAs based on five tokens, namely SOL, TRX, AVAX, and BNB.

Russia is yet to comprehensively regulate crypto investments, as the existing law “On Digital Financial Assets” does not cover decentralized digital currencies like Bitcoin. Now they are only possible within the framework of a very limited “experimental legal regime” (ELR).

The Bank of Russia recently indicated it expects a dedicated law to be adopted by the Russian parliament in 2026, legalizing investments in crypto assets outside the ELR.

However, these are likely to remain reserved for a narrow category of “highly qualified” investors. The status is being granted based on income and earlier financial investments.

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