Sberbank Joins Russia's Crypto Club: Membership Has Its Perks, Launch Set for Dec. 1 🏦

Russia's Central Bank has approved Sberbank to offer cryptocurrency exchange services under the country's new digital asset regulations, adding the nation's largest lender to its authorized crypto exchange register. The regulator's updated list, dated Tuesday, now includes 10 authorized crypto exchange operators and six digital custodians, up from four and five, respectively, a week earlier.

Sberbank plans to launch its first crypto products on Dec. 1, 2026, through its existing SberBank Online, SberInvestments and SberBusiness platforms, supporting $BTC, $ETH and USDt. The bank has already begun testing crypto purchases, sales, deposits and withdrawals through its SberBank Online app, according to Russian business newspaper Vedomosti, which cited the bank's press office. Sberbank said the final launch timeline depends on additional central bank regulations.

The registration builds on Sberbank's earlier enrollment as a digital depository, which was confirmed last Tuesday. Sberbank now joins eight other organizations in the cryptocurrency exchange register, including VTB and T-Invest Lab, the latter operating within the T-Technologies group, which also includes T-Bank. Nonbank companies such as Atomyze are also on the list.

The approvals follow the Sept. 1 entry into force of Russia's new crypto rules, which placed exchange operators and custodians under central bank oversight. The country still prohibits using cryptocurrencies to pay for goods and services.