Tinkoff Bank's Parent Firm Wades into Crypto with Aximetria Purchase

Despite the strict stance of Russian market watchdogs over the digital currency ecosystem, TCS Group, the parent company of private Russian bank Tinkoff has made a majority acquisition in Aximetria, a startup that offers users an opportunity to invest in cryptocurrencies.

Founded in 2018 by Alexey Axelrod, Aximetria ranks as one of the first sets of crypto players operating in Switzerland to be offered the FINMA (Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority) license to process transactions involving cryptocurrencies and cash transactions. The value of the deal between TCS Group and Aximetria remains unknown, and there is no clarity as of the time of writing on how the company hopes to maximize its stake in the Swiss startup.

“Aximetria will develop as part of the international expansion of the Tinkoff Group in compliance with all the requirements of the jurisdictions of international presence. The details of the deal will be disclosed in accordance with the accepted standards of disclosure in the Group's annual reports,” the company told local news channel, The Bell.

The growth of cryptocurrencies has pushed several players in the traditional finance industry to begin exploring avenues to get involved and offer crypto-related services to their customers. The acquisition of Aximetria reiterates the plans by the TCS Group to find a solution as the company’s Chief Executive Officer, Oliver Hughes said in an interview with CNBC last year that customers are demanding crypto offerings of which the firm has no mechanism to offer due to strict regulations.

The Aximetria acquisition will serve as the very first time the Tinkoff Group will be wading into crypto, and while the deal may be subject to regulatory scrutiny, it is a clear indication of how traditional banks are enthusiastic to defy guidelines in order to tag along with current trends in financial innovation. 

Just like Tinkoff is trying to position itself to offer crypto services, Kookmin Bank, the largest commercial bank in South Korea took the initiative to start offering crypto services as far back as August 2020, reinforcing the fact that the move is fast becoming a global trend.

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