Russia’s primary financial institution, Sberbank, has obtained authorization to trade digital assets, pushing forward Moscow’s initiative to integrate cryptocurrency trading and safekeeping into the official financial framework.
The Bank of Russia included Sberbank in its official list of cryptocurrency exchange operators, as reported by Interfax. Earlier in the month, the lender also joined the registry for digital depositories, enabling it to track the crypto balances of its customers.
Currently, the exchange directory features nine entities, counting organizations like VTB and T-Invest Lab among them.
This green light represents a further departure from the central bank’s initial 2022 suggestion to outlaw local cryptocurrency exchanges and block Russian financial entities from managing digital tokens. Instead, legislation that became active on September 1 establishes a supervised marketplace incorporating banks, brokers, exchanges, and digital deposit institutions.
These two separate registrations address distinct functions within that ecosystem. Authorized crypto dealers are permitted to purchase and sell digital assets via proprietary capital outside of structured exchanges, whereas depositories document ownership rights and transfers, as stated by the central bank.
Together, these approvals offer a pathway for Sberbank to deliver both trading and custody operations, following its initiation of development on a proprietary cryptocurrency wallet earlier this year.
This market liberalization arrives alongside stricter supervision regarding how investors store and transfer their assets. Domestic cryptocurrency transactions remain strictly forbidden, and the central bank noted that beginning in July of next year, digital asset trades must be routed via authorized middlemen. Such a rule would effectively eliminate peer-to-peer transfers processed through local bank accounts.
Sberbank intends to launch its initial offerings on December 1 via applications its clients already utilize, based on reports from Interfax. The institution has previously been developing robust cryptocurrency trading architecture.
The banking giant is already conducting internal test transactions involving BTC, ETH, USDT, and additional leading tokens within its mobile platform, although the central bank will determine the definitive selection of allowed assets, Sberbank conveyed to Vedomosti.
Originally published at https://www.coindesk.com/business/2026/10/13/russia-s-largest-bank-sberbank-secures-approval-to-trade-crypto.
