Russia issues first loan backed by crypto

Thus, Expobank became the first to give out a loan secured and powered by Waves (WAVES)

The first loan was issued to Russian businessman Mikhail Uspensky. The founder and CEO of Waves Mr Ivanov also confirmed the news in a tweet.

According to the report, the loan was issued “through the conclusion of an individual bank loan agreement secured by Waves tokens.” It is believed there will be more crypto-backed loans. The deal is described as “precedent in nature for both the legal and banking community.”

Expobank in the deal used an escrow mechanism in the process of structuring the loan. Presently in Russia, the escrow mechanism remains the best means for a lender to fulfill fast its obligations to a creditor, by transferring property in the form of deposited digital assets.

There are still legal uncertain rules about cryptocurrency in Russia, but Expobank representatives hope that the use of crypto tokens as loan collateral will be allowed.

Crypto Increasing Recognition

Many are now investing in cryptocurrency, because the traditional financial system we know might change in the nearest future. Trend for cryptocurrency, increasing price of bitcoins and altcoins show that there is a future for digital currencies. The CEO of cryptocurrency neobank Chatex, Michael Ross-Johnson, attested to the increasing global recognition of crypto too.

Ross-Johnson believes that several state governments’ decision to regulate the crypto market shows “the increased influence of digital currencies.”

Crypto regulation in Russia

In the past years, there have been a lot of rising crypto-related issues in Russia.

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed into law the bill that regulates digital financial asset (DFA) transactions. It was approved by the State Duma, the lower house of the Russian parliament, on July 22 and by the Federation Council on July 24. The law will come into force on Jan. 1, 2021.

According to official reports of Russian news agency TASS the law gives a definition to digital currency, announcing that it “is recognized as an aggregate of electronic data capable of being accepted as the payment means, not being the monetary unit of the Russian Federation or a foreign state, and as investments,”It is also was highlighted that “The digital currency cannot be used at the same time to pay for any goods and services.”

Russian banks and exchanges can become exchange operators of digital financial assets provided that they register with the central bank, the Bank of Russia.

In other words, crypto bill finally a legal status to crypto, but does not allow it to be used as a payment method.

But there are good points as well. Anatoly Aksakov, a member of the State Duma and a major figure in Russia’s crypto legislation, reportedly said that the new law will allow local firms to issue stablecoins — a “stable” type of cryptocurrency that is often pegged to fiat currencies like USD.

According to the official, Russians will be able to launch such coins as well as exchange them for other assets including digital assets that were issued abroad. Russia’s largest bank Sberbank looks to launch stablecoin under new crypto law. It is going to be their own stablecoin, a digital currency backed by real-world assets. Once the crypto law comes into action, Sberbank will join hands with its partners and proceed ahead with the project.

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