The largest Russian state bank, Sber, is preparing to launch a decentralized finance platform — open beta testing of the platform should begin closer to May.

Konstantin Klimenko, Sberbank Blockchain Lab Product Director, says that at the end of April, users will be able to conduct their first transactions.

At the end of November, Sberbank announced a list of features that are planned on its platform: issuing its own tokens, creating smart contracts, and integrating with banking systems.

The DeFi platform will be compatible with the Ethereum blockchain to allow users to use major compatible wallets such as MetaMask to manage and move assets. Moreover, platform clients will be able to transfer crypto assets to it from other platforms.

Now Sberbank aims to become the main DeFi ecosystem in Russia, says Klimenko. In his opinion, in the future, such platforms will be able to displace the traditional market of banking services. The top manager of the state bank did not specify whether the platform would be considered regulated, since there is no corresponding cryptocurrency legislation in Russia yet.

In December, SberUniversity and its blockchain laboratory launched an educational program to study the basics of decentralized finance.