Sber, formerly known as Sberbank, is the largest bank in Russia. They have just announced that they will launch the world’s first gold-backed digital financial assets (DFAs).

The bank views direct foreign investment (DFA) as a great alternative to conventional investment vehicles in light of the current trend toward de-dollarization.

The first investor to acquire the issued assets was Solfer, which is a company specialized in the sale and manufacture of a wide range of metals.

A gold-backed decentralized financial asset, also known as a gold-backed decentralized financial asset (gold-backed DFA), is a monetary claim whose volume and price are decided by the price of gold.

According to the legal documents that are associated with the issue, the bank intends to sell up to 150,000 DFA to potential investors who are interested in making purchases.

One has the option to purchase DFA until July 30, 2023, if desired.

This type of DFA, according to Alexander Vedyakhin, first vice president of the Executive Board of Sber, are an alternative to traditional investments in the midst of de-dollarization that has caused international financial sanctions that have been imposed on Russia as a country as a result of its invasion of Ukraine. These sanctions were imposed as a direct result of Russia’s decision to invade Ukraine.

Despite pre-existing rules on DFA taking effect in 2020, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin enacted a measure in July 2022 that made it illegal to use digital financial assets as a means of payment. This law entered into force immediately after its approval.

In June, VTB Factoring, which is a subsidiary of VTB Bank, which is another state-owned bank in Russia, stated that it had successfully completed its first substantial transaction using digital financial assets.

Sber completed its maiden sale using DFA at the end of July by issuing three-month assets with a total value of 1 billion rubles.