Russian bank Tinkoff looks into crypto investment services despite current ban

Despite regulators in Russia prohibiting companies from providing crypto investment services, the head of Tinkoff Investments has revealed that the online brokerage is researching cryptocurrency investment products.

Head of Tinkoff Investments, Dmitry Panchenko, confirmed in an interview that the online brokerage is looking into cryptocurrency related products, despite the Russian central bank and local regulators prohibiting the bank from making any concrete steps towards this. 

Pachenko noted:

“One way or another, people get exposure to crypto and they do it outside of the country. It would be potentially correct to provide such services within the Russian legal system. This is not possible legally today, but the issue needs to be discussed and studied more deeply.”

Russia’s central bank banned cryptocurrencies from being used in payments in 2020, despite giving them legal status at the time with the law “On Digital Financial Assets, stating that only the Russian Ruble would be considered legal tender.

The brokerage arm of major Russian bank Tinkoff revealed in a news statement with local news agency TASS that they are closely examining crypto products from the likes of Payments giant PayPal, as well as exploring apps like Revolut and Robinhood.

In June the CEO of Tinkoff, Oliver Hughes, revealed the bank’s desire to offer crypto services, stating that they were limited by the Bank of Russia’s policies.

Hughes noted in a CNBC interview that despite the fact that there are “qualified investors who know what they’re doing”, the bank was unable to provide crypto services:

“There’s no mechanism for us to offer that product to them in Russia at the moment because the central bank has got this very tough position.”

The new revelation from the bank indicates the growing demand for cryptocurrencies in Russia, and that while banks are not allowed to offer such services yet, there are preparations in place should Russian regulators choose to relax their laws.

Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.