No, Sberbank Isn’t Selling a ‘Cryptocurrency’ on a DeFi Exchange – Here’s What’s Really Going On
A bizarre altcoin named sbercoin (SBER) appears to have duped experts and media outlets alike into thinking that it is part of a grand Russian plan from a Russian megabank looking to evade Western sanctions. The bank denies connection with the coin.
The token, which seems to be trading almost exclusively on the decentralized exchange PancakeSwap (CAKE) appears to have debuted last month, at around the time when Sberbank (also known as Sber) was granted the right to issue what the Russian government has labelled “digital financial assets” (DFAs). This ambiguous umbrella term has been applied by lawmakers to refer to everything from tokenized commodities and securities to stablecoins and even cryptoassets.
Sberbank, which is also one of Russia’s premium tech companies, has seen its share price tank on the London Stock Exchange as a result of Western-led sanctions amidst Russia's agression on Ukraine.
But amongst the financial chaos, it appears some individuals have sought to use the news as a foil to promote an altcoin that – apparently – is merely using the Sber name as a means to make a fast buck.
BusinessInsider, which appears to believe the coin is genuinely associated with Sberbank, reported:
“There has been speculation the sbercoin could become a quietly condoned way to exchange rubles for other currencies, and get around constraints.”
It also quoted Asheesh Birla, the General Manager at RippleNet, as stating:
“It’s going to be super-problematic for them to get much traction here, because they also need a liquid exchange that is going to take the Russian ruble. It’s like taking your own bank account, and putting it onto a ledger. It’s not all that useful, unless you can start trading it for other things. And so far, the
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