Sberbank Approved to Trade Bitcoin in Russia — SkimNews
Get the Finance newsletter
Daily finance — markets, central banks, M&A, the prints that move money. Free.
- Sberbank was added to the Bank of Russia's register of crypto exchange operators on October 12, six days after being separately listed as a digital depository
- Sberbank plans to begin Bitcoin, Ethereum, and USDT trading on December 1 inside SberBank Online, SberInvestments, and SberBusiness, contingent on secondary regulations being finalized
- Russian retail investors face a 300,000 ruble (~$3,800) annual cap per intermediary, must pass a mandatory knowledge test, and are barred from spending crypto on goods
- Deputy Chairman Anatoly Popov forecast Russia's regulated crypto trading volumes at 4 trillion rubles (~$46 billion) in the first year, rising to 7.5 trillion rubles (~$89.7 billion) by 2029
- Sberbank ended Q2 with 110.6 million retail clients and 3.5 million corporate clients, giving its new crypto desk a built-in distribution channel
- The Bank of Russia proposed banning crypto use, mining, and exchanges outright in January 2022; less than five years later, it is licensing the country's biggest lender to run a crypto desk
Why it matters: Sberbank's 110.6 million retail clients now have a regulated on-ramp to Bitcoin and Ethereum inside the apps they already use for daily banking, but the 300,000 ruble (~$3,800) annual cap throttles each retail buyer's exposure. The reversal — from a 2022 ban proposal to licensing the country's largest lender — turns previously underground Russian crypto demand into a tightly capped, state-supervised flow.
Ask SkimNews
