Russia's Sberbank Gets Green Light to Custody Bitcoin
Key Takeaways
- •Sberbank has become the first lender in Russia approved by the Bank of Russia to provide custody services for bitcoin and several smaller cryptocurrencies.
- •Customers will conduct cryptocurrency transactions through Sberbank's existing platforms—SberBank Online, SberInvestments, and SberBusiness—with standard customer identification, transaction monitoring, and reporting.
- •The service will begin with a limited number of customers in a phased rollout ahead of a broader launch that Sberbank has targeted for December.
- •The approval comes amid regulatory progress in Russia, including a digital asset law signed by President Putin this month and draft central bank rules for crypto trading published in July.
- •Despite the new services, cryptocurrency remains banned as a means of payment or legal tender in Russia, a prohibition in place since 2022.
Sberbank, Russia's largest bank, has become the first lender in the country to be approved to custody bitcoin, a significant step in the lender's push into digital assets.
Custody, which means holding and safeguarding customers' cryptocurrency on their behalf, a foundational service for banks entering the digital asset market.
Sberbank said in an announcement on Wednesday that the Bank of Russia gave the company the green light for "digital currency record-keeping" and to facilitate the transfer of such assets. It said that bitcoin and other, smaller cryptocurrencies were given approval.
Putin Signs Digital Asset Law Into Place
Russia is fast moving ahead with regulating digital assets. Russian President Vladimir Putin this month signed a law to set in stone the regulation of digital currencies and digital rights in the country. Sberbank's green light arrives against that regulatory backdrop.
JUST IN: Russia's largest bank Sberbank, has received approval to offer digital asset custody services starting with Bitcoin pic.twitter.com/lbhXspcHtd
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Transactions Through Familiar Banking Apps
"Customers will be able to conduct cryptocurrency transactions via SberBank Online, SberInvestments, and the SberBusiness online banking platform," the bank said in a statement, adding that no new apps or platforms will be released.
It added: "For users, this means that digital currency transactions are moving into familiar banking interfaces — complete with standard customer identification, transaction monitoring, and reporting."
Before a mass rollout, the bank will provide the service for a limited number of customers, it continued, pointing to a phased approach ahead of a wider launch. The staged start gives the bank room to test operations and compliance before the service opens up more broadly.
Regulatory Momentum, Payment Ban Stays
Sberbank in July revealed plans to debut a Bitcoin and crypto wallet as well as digital asset custody by December. The Bank of Russia in July published draft regulations for crypto trading, and the State Duma has this year prepared the comprehensive regulation of digital assets. Milestones to watch from here include how the limited rollout expands toward the bank's December target and what the central bank finalizes from its draft trading rules.
Despite the rollout, using digital assets as a means of payment or legal tender within Russia is still banned. Using crypto as a form of payment has been prohibited in Russia since 2022, meaning the newly approved services cover record-keeping and transfers, not payments.
President Putin has appeared to praise Bitcoin in the past, once saying that the leading cryptocurrency can't be stopped.
This article was written by Mathew Di Salvo and first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine.
