MOSCOW (Reuters) – The Russian central bank has given a local subsidiary of Swiss-based blockchain platform Atomyze a licence to issue and exchange digital financial assets, the bank said on Thursday, marking the first firm to be legally able to do so in Russia.
Russian authorities are working on ways to regulate cryptocurrencies without a complete ban on trading and mining as advocated by the central bank, according to a document seen by Reuters.
In a sign that Russia will avoid a total ban on digital assets, the central bank said Atomyze does not violate Russian laws.
Atomyze uses blockchain technologies for so-called tokenisation of real assets, which allows retail investors to buy into precious metals and helps legal entities manage large volumes of such metals, Interros said in a statement on Thursday.
Interros, which is the largest shareholder in the world’s leading nickel producer Norilsknickel, is one of Atomyze’s investors.
The licence will give clients of Atomyze the ability to issue digital assets, while the company will be able to exchange such assets within its platform, the central bank said.
The central bank had earlier advocated a complete ban on trading and mining of cryptocurrencies, citing threats to financial stability, citizens’ wellbeing and its monetary policy sovereignty.
But President Vladimir Putin called on for a balanced approach, asking the finance, economy, digital and interior ministries, the FSB security service, and the central bank to work on a plan for how to treat the sector.
(Reporting by Elena Fabrichnaya; writing by Andrey Ostroukh; Editing by Toby Chopra)
