Russian Government Indirectly Gets Into Bitcoin Trading And Custody

While Russian lawmakers are considering restrictive crypto regulations, a Switzerland-registered subsidiary of Rusian state-owned Gazprombank starts offering crypto trading and custody services.

Gazprombank (Switzerland) Ltd said it has received authorization from the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) to provide cryptocurrency bank accounts to corporate and institutional clients. Initially, these services will be provided to “a limited number of selected clients.”

“The new services will include institutional-grade storage solutions and the purchase and sale of bitcoin. Gazprombank plans to gradually expand the offering to include additional cryptocurrencies and other products and services,” the company said.

According to CEO Roman Abdulin, they expect that digital assets to become “increasingly important in the global economy and, in particular, for our current and potential clientele.”

Russia-based Gazprombank (JSC) is directly and indirectly owned by Gazprom, an energy giant controlled by the Russian state that is still being sanctioned by western countries due to Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea and the destabilization of Ukraine in 2014.

As of the end of 2019, the Switzerland-based bank had CHF 1.9bn in assets (USD 2bn).

At 15:16 UTC, bitcoin trades at USD 13,521 and is almost unchanged in a day. The price is up by 5% in a week and 25% in a month.
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