Russia's Biggest Bank Sber to Accept Crypto as Loan Collateral

Russia's largest bank is about to make a big move into the world of cryptocurrency. Sber, the country's biggest bank, plans to let people use crypto as collateral for loans (collateral means something valuable you pledge to a lender; if you can't repay the loan, the lender keeps it).

Until now, Sber only accepted Bitcoin for this. Soon, it will also accept two more types of crypto:

• Ether (ETH) — the second-biggest cryptocurrency in the world.
• USDT (Tether) — a "stablecoin" (a type of crypto designed to always be worth about $1, unlike Bitcoin whose price jumps up and down).

This is happening because Russia is launching a new, government-approved crypto market. President Vladimir Putin signed a crypto law on Aug. 4, and its main rules start on Sept. 1.

Who decides which crypto is allowed? The Bank of Russia (the country's central bank, which controls money and banking rules). On Aug. 11, it proposed allowing Bitcoin, Ether, and USDT to be traded on regulated exchanges. To qualify, these coins had to meet certain standards, including:

• A large market value (the total worth of all coins combined).
• High trading volume (how much is bought and sold).
• At least 5 years of price history on foreign markets.

Sber will add these coins as loan collateral only after the central bank officially approves them for public trading.

But Sber is unsure about one thing: the digital ruble. This is Russia's own official digital currency, called a CBDC (Central Bank Digital Currency — basically a digital version of regular government money, created and controlled by the central bank). It's also launching Sept. 1.

Sber's finance chief, Taras Skvortsov, said the bank sees little real demand for it. "I don't see any clear interest in this instrument, apart from the central bank's," he said. In other words, everyday people and businesses aren't excited about it yet.

Bottom line: Russia is opening the door to regulated crypto, and its biggest bank is embracing popular coins like Bitcoin and Ether — but staying cautious about the government's own digital money.

This is an AI-generated summary. Read the original article at: https://cointelegraph.com/news/russia-sber-bank-bitcoin-ether-usdt-crypto-loans?utm_source=rss_feed&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss_partner_inbound