Sberbank to Launch Crypto Trading Infrastructure by December 1

Sberbank plans to build cryptocurrency trading infrastructure and launch a digital depository by December 1 as part of Russia's efforts to integrate crypto trading, custody, and settlement into its regulated financial system. The depository will record clients' ownership of cryptocurrency and process most transactions outside the underlying blockchain. Sberbank will manage active wallets for client-initiated deposits, withdrawals, and transfers. This initiative follows the Federation Council's approval of a law regulating cryptocurrency trading through licensed brokers, exchanges, asset managers, and depositories, effective September 1. However, rules requiring transactions to go through licensed intermediaries will apply from July 2027. Public exchange trading will be limited to cryptocurrencies meeting Bank of Russia liquidity thresholds, including an average market capitalization above 5 trillion rubles and an average daily volume above 1 trillion rubles over two years. Qualified investors will have access to a wider range of assets, while crypto payments for goods and services within Russia remain prohibited. Sberbank began offering structured bonds tied to bitcoin for qualified investors last year and completed a bitcoin-backed lending pilot in December. Russia has been gradually incorporating crypto into its regulated financial system, with a 2024 law legalizing mining and establishing a framework for crypto-based cross-border settlements.

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