Russia’s Sber bank integrates Metamask into its blockchain platform

Russia’s largest bank Sber – formerly known as Sberbank – continues to develop its blockchain platform by integrating it with the Ethereum blockchain.

On November 30, Sber officially announced new capabilities for its proprietary blockchain platform, including compatibility with smart contracts and applications on the Ethereum network. This will allow developers to move smart contracts and entire projects between Sber’s blockchain and public blockchain networks, the bank said.

Sber’s latest addition also brings an integration with major software cryptocurrency wallet MetaMask, which is used to interact with the Ethereum blockchain. The integration allows users to perform operations with tokens and smart contracts located on Sber’s blockchain platform, the announcement notes.

“Sber Blockchain Lab works closely with external developers and partner companies, and I am glad that our community will be able to run DeFi applications on Sber’s infrastructure,” said head of blockchain lab Alexander Nam. He noted that the newly integrated features will help Sber unite developers, companies and financial institutions to explore practical business applications for blockchain, Web3 and decentralized finance.

As previously reported, Sberbank has been actively developing blockchain products in recent years, submitting an application to the Bank of Russia to launch a blockchain platform for its “Sbercoin” stablecoin in early 2021. After receiving the central bank’s approval in the spring of 2022, Sber finally announced its first digital currency agreement in June. Sber’s majority shareholder is the government of Russia, with 50% + 1 share.

Sber’s announcement came shortly after Russian President Vladimir Putin called for an open blockchain-based settlement network. He criticized the monopoly in global financial payment systems, and expressed confidence that digital currency-based technology will drive independence from banks. At the same time, Putin’s government does not allow its citizens to use crypto as payment, putting a general ban on payments with Bitcoin (BTC) in early 2020.

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In late November, Russian lawmakers also discussed potential legal changes for the government to launch a national crypto exchange. This effort is reportedly supported by both the Ministry of Finance and the Bank of Russia, which is known to be at odds when it comes to regulating the local crypto market.