Bank of Russia Clears First Crypto Operators Under New Law — SkimNews
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- Bank of Russia published its first registers of authorized crypto operators on Tuesday, listing four exchange operators and five digital custodians under new regulations that took effect Sept. 1.
- Sberbank, Russia's largest bank, was added to the custodian list and said it plans to launch its first crypto products on Dec. 1, initially supporting Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), and USDt (USDT) through its existing SberBank Online, SberInvestments, and SberBusiness platforms.
- VTB Bank appears on both the crypto exchange operator and custodian registers; other approved custodians include Atomyze, Voltari, and Cloud Infrastructure, while exchange operators include T-Invest Lab, Zefir, and Sistema-Crypto.
- The registrations implement a crypto law signed by President Vladimir Putin in August, creating a regulated framework for exchanges, custodians, brokers, and investors under Bank of Russia oversight.
- The framework maintains Russia's existing ban on using cryptocurrency to pay for goods and services, limiting legal crypto use to investment and trading through approved intermediaries.
Why it matters: Sberbank's Dec. 1 product launch, the highest-profile commercial rollout under the new framework, will bring regulated Bitcoin, Ether, and USDt access to customers of Russia's largest bank via existing SberBank Online, SberInvestments, and SberBusiness platforms, though the ban on crypto payments caps usage to investment and trading.
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