Russian bank is said to have issued the country's first crypto-backed loan

Russian commercial bank Expobank is said to have issued the country's first crypto-backed personal loan.

Russian business daily Kommersant reported the news on Wednesday, saying that the loan, backed by Waves tokens, was issued to businessman Mikhail Uspensky. Waves founder Sasha Ivanov confirmed the news in a tweet.

The loan value was not disclosed. Expobank's head of legal department Tanzila Yandieva told Kommersant that the loan is a "precedent-setting for both the legal and banking communities" in Russia.

The bank reportedly consulted lawyers and crypto experts for the deal and concluded that Waves tokens are "other property" and not payment tokens. The use of cryptocurrencies for payment is set to be banned in Russia starting next year.

Last month, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a bill that will prohibit cryptocurrencies as a means of payment in the country. The bill comes into effect from January 2021.

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Yogita Khatri is a senior reporter at The Block and the author of The Funding newsletter. As our longest-serving editorial member, Yogita has been instrumental in breaking numerous stories, exclusives and scoops. With over 3,000 articles to her name, Yogita is The Block's most-published and most-read author of all time. Before joining The Block, Yogita wrote for CoinDesk and The Economic Times. You can reach her at [email protected] or follow her latest updates on X at @Yogita_Khatri5.

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