Tinkoff Investments is considering offering its clients an option to invest in digital assets.
Tinkoff Investments - the online brokerage portal of the Russian bank Tinkoff - sees increased customer interest in digital assets. The director of the institution, Dmitry Panchenko, says that the idea of making cryptocurrencies available to the bank's clientele is still at an early stage. Reason? Russia does not have the most cryptocurrency-friendly legislation.
Russian institutions want to be part of the evolution of money
According to the TASS media agency, Tinkoff Investments may soon provide its clients with cryptocurrency services. The head of the company - Dmitry Panchenko - noted that the digital asset sector is a new technology that is developing rapidly. He added that the organization has been monitoring this expansion but wants a different legal landscape in the Russian Federation.
- We are looking at what is in the world and what is happening in Robinhood, Revolut, PayPal. We see this evolution, but it is not happening in Russia, he added.
The director said the volume of Russian assets on cryptocurrency exchanges is over $ 15 billion, which means that locals show a growing appetite for digital assets, even if they have to buy them in foreign markets. Accordingly, the government should authorize local financial service providers to offer products containing bitcoins and some alternative coins.
- Potentially, it would be right to introduce this service in the Russian field. So far, this is not legally possible, but the topic requires more in-depth discussion and study, he said.
Russians are reluctant to use this asset class as a payment method. They see it as "an instrument of investment and profit potential," concluded Panchenko.
But won't Russia ban cryptocurrencies? A few months ago, China hit the digital asset market with its complete ban on digging and using digital currencies. Many experts wondered if more countries would follow suit. As CryptoPotato reported earlier this month, Russia will not be one of them.
Alexey Moiseev - the country's deputy finance minister - said the Russian Federation has no plans to completely crack down on cryptocurrency trading on foreign platforms.
However, if local investors invest in bitcoin and altcoins in Russia, they "will be banned for the foreseeable future" due to the country's monetary sovereignty, Moiseev said.
