The stage of ‘open testing’ for a platform built by Russia’s Sberbank that is based on Ethereum’s decentralized finance (DeFi) system will begin in March of this year.
What’s more, the launch of the platform could be possible before May based on information provided by Konstantin Klimenko, the Product Director of the Blockchain Laboratory at Sberbank, local Russian media outlet Interfax reported on February 3.
Answering a question from the participants of the VII Perm Economic Congress on Friday, February 3, Klimenko said:
“We have set ourselves a big goal – to make the Russian DeFi ecosystem number one (decentralized finance system – IF). Our network is now operating in the format of closed beta testing. (…) From March 1, we will move to the next phase; it will no longer be beta testing, but open testing.”
He added:
“At the end of April, the platform will be fully open, and then it will be possible to make some commercial operations on it.”
The blockchain platform will reportedly be interoperable with Ethereum, as stated by Klimenko. Users of crypto wallets that are compatible with MetaMask will, in particular, be able to access the system (its developer is ConsenSys). He also said that customers would be able to move their cryptocurrency holdings from existing platforms to new ones.
According to Klimenko, the DeFi system has the potential to take the place of the conventional banking sector in the future.
In November, Sberbank made public its intentions to develop a technological link between its blockchain platform and the decentralized finance ecosystem that is built on Ethereum. However, the dangers that are associated with DeFi were previously brought to the attention of both the Central Bank of the Russian Federation and the Ministry of Finance.
