Sber is aiming to have cryptocurrency trading infrastructure ready by December 1, as Russia prepares to implement a new legal framework for digital currencies and digital rights.

According to a July 24 report from Interfax, the planned depository would record clients’ rights to cryptocurrency and account for activity outside the asset’s main blockchain. Separate active wallets would be used to process transfers requested by customers.

The structure suggests Sber is preparing more than a simple buy-and-sell feature inside its banking app. The bank is building a custody and accounting layer that could place Sber’s internal records between customers and public blockchain networks.

That arrangement could simplify trading, account recovery and compliance processes, but the degree of control customers will have over their assets remains unclear. Sber has not said whether customers will receive individual blockchain addresses or whether cryptocurrency will be held in pooled wallets controlled by the bank.

Sber’s Plan Extends Beyond a Crypto Wallet

Sber had already announced plans to add a crypto wallet to Sber Online and SberInvestments, according to earlier Coindoo reporting. The latest disclosure indicates that the wallet would operate on top of a broader system for trading, custody and ownership records.

If customers trade with one another inside the same platform, Sber may be able to update balances internally rather than record every transaction as a separate transfer on Bitcoin, Ethereum or another public blockchain.

Such a system could reduce transaction costs and settlement times while making tax reporting, customer support and compliance checks easier. Customers who lose access to the banking application could also recover their accounts through Sber instead of relying solely on a seed phrase.

The trade-off is that a public blockchain may not display each customer’s complete position. If Sber uses pooled wallets, the blockchain would show the bank’s aggregate holdings, while the allocation of those assets among individual clients would be maintained in Sber’s internal database.

This model is already common among centralized exchanges and institutional custodians. The key difference is the location of trust: customers depend on the intermediary’s security, accounting and legal obligations rather than on direct control of a private key.

Russia Is Adapting Market Rules for Crypto

Sber’s timetable follows the State Duma’s July 21 passage of Bill No. 1194918-8, “On Digital Currencies and Digital Rights,” which sets rules for cryptocurrency trading, custody and investor access, as reported by Coindoo. As of July 26, the bill still requires approval from the Federation Council and the president’s signature. Although those steps are typically formalities for government-backed legislation, the law is not in force until they are completed.

The main provisions are scheduled to take effect on September 1, 2026. Existing market participants would then have until July 1, 2027 to register, obtain the necessary licences and adapt their systems.

The Bank of Russia’s description of the framework assigns distinct roles to exchanges, brokers, asset managers and digital depositories, according to the central bank’s official information. Exchanges would organize trading, while depositories would maintain legally recognized ownership records.

Non-qualified investors would have to pass a knowledge test and would be allowed to buy selected liquid cryptocurrencies within an annual limit of ₽300,000, or about $3,800. Available reports differ on whether that limit applies through each intermediary or across all platforms, an issue that final published rules will need to clarify.

Cryptocurrency payments for ordinary goods and services inside Russia would remain prohibited. The framework therefore treats crypto mainly as an investment asset, transferable property and, in approved cases, a tool for cross-border transactions rather than as a domestic alternative to the ruble.

The structure resembles a regulated securities market more than a permissionless crypto economy. Access would be routed through identifiable customers, licensed institutions and legally enforceable records.

Earlier Digital-Asset Products Give Sber Experience

Sber is not starting from zero. According to Interfax, the bank has been registered since 2022 as an operator of information systems for digital financial assets. Since 2025, it has offered qualified investors structured bonds and Russian digital financial assets linked to Bitcoin, Ether and cryptocurrency baskets.

Sber also completed a crypto-backed lending pilot in December 2025. The project tested how cryptocurrency could be recognized as collateral, controlled by the lender and monitored as its market value changed.

Those products are different from holding native cryptocurrency. A bond linked to Bitcoin’s price gives investors financial exposure, but it does not give them BTC that can be transferred to an external blockchain address.

Even so, the earlier products gave Sber experience with investor checks, digital ownership records, collateral controls and asset accounting. The planned depository would extend those systems to cryptocurrency issued on public blockchains rather than assets limited to platforms operated directly by the bank.

December Target Depends on Further Rules

The December 1 target comes three months after the law’s main provisions are expected to take effect and seven months before the proposed registration deadline for existing providers.

That timing gives Sber a path to enter the market early, but it also means the bank is building infrastructure before all operating requirements have been finalized.

Alexander Vedyakhin, Sber’s first deputy chairman, said additional regulations are still needed for depository accounting, bookkeeping and the licensing of new intermediaries. Sber plans to continue working with the regulator while those standards are developed.

The rules will need to address protection of private keys, separation of client assets, reconciliation between internal balances and blockchain holdings, and management of the active wallets used for transfers.

The Bank of Russia must also decide which cryptocurrencies can be offered more broadly. Sber will then need to disclose supported assets, fees, spreads, withdrawal conditions and security arrangements.

For that reason, December 1 is an infrastructure target rather than confirmation that a complete retail service will be available on that date. Sber could be technically ready while still awaiting secondary regulations or regulatory approval.

EU Restrictions Add Importance to Domestic Infrastructure

The buildout comes as Russian access to foreign crypto services becomes less predictable. The EU recently named 14 crypto-related platforms for transaction bans, including HTX, EXMO, BitPapa and Rapira, according to Coindoo.

The EU Council’s 21st sanctions package also introduced a mechanism for restricting transactions with crypto providers in non-EU jurisdictions that are considered to be systematically assisting sanctions circumvention, according to the Council’s official announcement.

A domestic platform could reduce Russian users’ reliance on foreign exchanges whose payment methods, banking access or regional availability may change with little notice. It would also bring more activity into institutions that Russian regulators can supervise directly.

Sber’s infrastructure would not remove international restrictions or make sanctioned counterparties accessible to EU-regulated companies. Its practical role would be to keep more domestic trading, custody and reporting inside Russia’s financial system.

Withdrawal and Custody Terms Remain Unclear

Sber has disclosed when it expects the infrastructure to be ready, but not the terms that will determine how closely the service resembles a conventional crypto wallet.

Several issues remain unresolved:

• External withdrawals: whether customers will be able to send cryptocurrency to any blockchain address or only transfer assets inside Sber.
• Asset segregation: whether client holdings will remain legally separate from Sber’s own assets if the bank or a service provider fails.
• Reserve verification: whether internal balances will be independently reconciled with assets held in blockchain wallets.
• Network benefits: how Sber will handle forks, airdrops, staking rewards and protocol changes.

A service without unrestricted external withdrawals could still provide regulated cryptocurrency exposure. It would operate more like a bank-run brokerage and custody account than a self-controlled blockchain wallet.

The distinction is more than a branding issue. Users holding cryptocurrency through Sber may receive simpler access, account recovery and regulatory protections, but they could lose the ability to move assets freely or participate directly in blockchain applications.

Product Terms May Matter More Than the Launch Date

If Sber meets its December target, it would show that a major Russian bank can connect traditional accounts with cryptocurrency markets and public blockchain assets.

The more important confirmation would be a published licence or registry entry, a list of supported assets, transparent fees and written custody terms explaining withdrawals, reserve controls and ownership rights.

The digital depository is the central part of the plan. It illustrates how Russia intends to bring cryptocurrency into its existing financial system: public blockchains underneath, licensed institutions in the middle and bank-maintained ownership records presented to customers.

That model could make crypto easier to access and supervise, while replacing direct control with dependence on the bank. Until Sber publishes its custody and withdrawal rules, the expected timing of the infrastructure is clearer than what users will be able to do with the assets they buy.