By Alicia Maher
A crypto investment service is being investigated by Tinkoff Ventures, the online brokerage of prominent Russian financial institution Tinkoff. This is being done regardless of the Bank of Russia’s prohibition on the bank offering such products. Dmitry Panchenko, the head of Tinkoff Ventures, stated that the institution’s trading portal is investigating projects linked to cryptocurrency investing, but that it is too soon to discuss particular ideas at this time.
Panchenko stated in a discussion with the Russian news agency TASS on Thursday that the business is continuously focusing on study and innovation projects aimed at a variety of crypto-related offerings. Tinkoff Ventures is particularly interested in cryptocurrency goods offered by companies such as PayPal, the global payment behemoth, as well as cryptocurrency-friendly apps such as Revolut and Robinhood.
Russians Want Crypto, Not Just For Payments, But As An Investment
Panchenko stressed that even though regional regulators have not yet approved the provision of crypto financial products by businesses such as Tinkoff Ventures; Russians are still consciously buying and selling crypto on international platforms. With more than $15 billion valuations of digital currencies traded on exchanges: “People are exposed to cryptocurrency in one manner or another, and as such, they do so outside of their home country. Providing such operations within the framework of the Russian judicial process could be considered legitimate. Although this is not legally viable at present, the matter should be debated and researched in further depth.”
Panchenko went on to say that brokerage firms such as Tinkoff stood to gain from the acceptance of cryptocurrency investment offerings. Furthermore, he stated that the institution has witnessed an uptick in the desire for cryptocurrency investments, as opposed to the use of cryptocurrency for transactions, which is outlawed in Russia by the nation’s cryptocurrency legislation, On Virtual Financial Entities.
The announcement comes shortly after Tinkoff CEO Oliver Hughes alleged that the Russian monetary authorities were preventing Tinkoff from giving cryptocurrency trading services to its customers. “At the present, there is no channel for us to provide that offer to users in Russia since the monetary authority is in such a difficult position,” Hughes explained.
Despite Terrible Regulation, The Russian Crypto Sector Is Worth $500B
Per a key market leader, the Russian crypto-economy has expanded to hundreds of billions of Dollars notwithstanding inadequate regulation. On Wednesday, Sergei Khitrov, creator of the Russian cryptocurrency seminars Listing.Help and Blockchain Life spoke at the VII Blockchain Life Conference in Moscow. According to Khitrov, the Russian crypto industry is valued at 20–40 trillion rubles ($280–550 billion).
He also stated that if the Russian authorities eased laws for the cryptocurrency market, it could collect up to $284 billion in annual taxes. Because Russian authorities have ignored the sector for years, regional crypto firms have had little choice except to operate unlawfully or migrate to other countries, Khitrov told reporters. “Crypto products cannot be lawfully delivered without laws that consider the crypto industry’s needs. Companies don’t want to be seen,” he remarked. “We know quite a lot of cryptocurrency platforms with Russian roots, but regrettably, these platforms are either not licensed to operate or just headquartered in other territories,” Khitrov remarked.