Russia’s largest bank – Sberbank has started testing cryptocurrency services through its Sberbank Online mobile app. The planned service will allow customers to buy, sell, deposit and withdraw digital assets.
The bank is aiming to open it to all clients on December 1, 2026, provided the necessary rules from the Bank of Russia are in force by then. During the testing stage, the service supports Bitcoin, Ethereum, Tether’s USDT and other popular cryptocurrencies.
The bank’s press service confirmed the testing to Russian newspaper Vedomosti on October 8. The service was also presented at Sberbank’s SberInvestments investor forum. The bank said similar operations would be available through its SberInvestments brokerage app and SberBusiness platform for corporate customers.
Sberbank is targeting a large market. It aims to bring up to 4 trillion rubles in retail cryptocurrency trading onto its regulated platform by 2027. However, the final list of cryptocurrencies available to customers will depend on detailed rules issued by the Bank of Russia. For now, the service is open only to participants in the testing programme.
JUST IN: 🇷🇺 Russia’s largest bank, Sberbank, is preparing to launch #Bitcoin & crypto trading for over 100 million clients 👀
Adoption! 👏 https://t.co/ni0ST3fJox
— Bitcoin Magazine (@BitcoinMagazine) October 8, 2026
The bank took another step on October 6, when it became the first company in Russia to enter the central bank’s register of digital depositories. A digital depository records ownership of digital assets and handles their transfer. Russia’s second-largest bank, VTB, was also among the first institutions admitted to the register.
The new rules set financial requirements for businesses that want to provide these services. Depending on the type of activity, digital depositories must have minimum equity of between 50 million and 250 million rubles. Crypto exchange operators must have at least 15 million rubles.
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