Gazprombank, the third-largest bank in Russia, plans to conduct cryptocurrency transactions in Switzerland later this year as part of a pilot program through its Swiss subsidiary.
Aleksandr Sobol, the deputy chairman of Gazprombank, said the state-owned bank decided to try out crypto deals in response to demand from several major private clients.
“This will not be on a grand scale, but for ourselves,” Sobol told Vedomosti. “This is a demand from our large private clients for such amenities. Therefore, we are now looking at how we can organize this service for them.”
In January 2018, Sberbank — Russia’s largest bank — announced plans to open its own cryptocurrency exchange in Switzerland, as they are not allowed in Russia.
As CCN previously reported, Sberbank also recently opened a blockchain lab in Switzerland to test blockchain projects. As of January 2018, Sberbank said it had more than 20 blockchain-based pilot projects under development.
