Russia’s Sberbank wins approval to trade crypto ahead of December launch

What happened

The Bank of Russia added Sberbank to its list of authorized cryptocurrency exchange operators, CoinDesk and Cointelegraph reported on Tuesday. Earlier this month the bank had already joined the register of digital depositories, which record who owns crypto holdings and track transfers. Sources differ on the total: CoinDesk counted nine firms on the exchange register, while Cointelegraph put it at 10, alongside six custodians. Rival lender VTB is also listed. Sberbank aims to launch its first crypto products on December 1 through apps its customers already use, and is testing trades in BTC, ETH and USDT, though the central bank will set the final coin list.

What it means

This is a big shift for Russia. In 2022 the central bank proposed banning domestic crypto exchanges outright and barring Russian financial firms from handling digital coins. Instead, a law that took effect on September 1 created a supervised market in which banks, brokers, exchanges and depositories can operate under central bank oversight. Sberbank's approval shows that framework now moving from paper into practice.

Having both licenses matters. As an exchange operator, Sberbank can buy and sell coins using its own money, outside organized trading venues. As a depository, it can record who owns what. Together they let the bank offer trading and something close to custody, meaning safekeeping of clients' coins, from one place. It has also been working on its own crypto wallet this year.

The opening comes with strings attached. Using crypto to pay for goods and services remains banned in Russia. From July next year, crypto transactions will have to run through registered intermediaries, which would effectively end peer-to-peer deals settled through Russian bank accounts, CoinDesk reported. In other words, the state is legalizing crypto investing while pulling more of the activity into channels it can monitor.

For the global crypto market, the direct effect is likely to be modest at first, because the final list of permitted coins and the timing still depend on further central bank rules. But giving the customers of the country's largest lender an easy, legal route to buy bitcoin could add steady demand over time.

The bull case

A household-name bank offering bitcoin and ether through familiar apps lowers the barrier for ordinary Russians to invest, which could bring a new source of demand for major coins. Regulated access also tends to build trust, and the rapid growth of Russia's register in just a week suggests more large institutions are preparing to join.

The bear case

The rollout depends on further central bank rules, so the launch date and coin list could change. With crypto payments still banned, coins bought this way can only be held or traded, which limits how useful they are to ordinary customers. And tighter controls on peer-to-peer trading may simply shift existing activity rather than add new demand.