The owner of the major private Russian bank Tinkoff, TCS Group, is now gaining exposure to digital assets. Russian banks have been majorly moving into the digital asset market despite the Bank of Russia’s hostility toward cryptos.
This company has invested in Swiss digital asset service provider Aximetria that is now expected to become the firm’s first major crypto-related outfit, local news agency The Bell reported on January 12, 2022.
Citing data acquired from Aximetria, the report suggests that TCS acquired 4,449 Aximetria shares worth 100 Swiss francs ($108) for every share. Taking into the context that Aximetria’s total share capital was nearly 535,000 francs ($578,000), the publication reported TCS’ stake to be nearly 83.2%.
A Tinkoff spokesperson confirmed the news to reporters saying that Aximetria will be:
“Part of the international expansion of Tinkoff Group in compliance with all the requirements of the jurisdictions of international presence.”
This representative insisted that Aximetria is “not a crypto exchange” but instead it is a “financial service in the digital asset industry.”
At the time of publication, Aximetria’s main page includes some details on the company being a part of TCS. Aximetria allows its users to open a “Swiss crypto account” with free deposits and withdrawals in Euros or U.S. dollars. The platform states that it targets clients around the world.
Tinkoff Aims To Serve The Growing Crypto Demand
Amid the massively growing demand for cryptocurrency investments, Tinkoff has now been struggling to provide crypto investment services in Russia as the Bank of Russia allegedly stopped the firm from launching its suite of related services. That led to a situation where Russia has no single legal firm that operates in the nation and provides crypto investment services.
The central bank is famous for its hostility to the crypto sector and Bitcoin (BTC). Nonetheless, it allegedly aims to let people invest in crypto investment using foreign platforms.
Despite the continuing harsh stance of the local regulators, Russia’s biggest bank, Sber, launched a cryptocurrency exchange-traded fund in December, tracking huge crypto investment companies and exchanges like Galaxy Digital and Coinbase. Previously known as Sberbank, the state-backed firm was in the past planning to launch a cryptocurrency-exchange business under its Sberbank Switzerland subsidiary in 2018.
