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Sberbank Plans Crypto Wallet and Digital Depository by December 2026
Russia's largest bank will add cryptocurrency services to its Sberbank Online and SberInvestments platforms after new legislation takes effect in September. The move follows years of shifting Russian policy on digital assets.
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Sberbank plans to introduce a cryptocurrency wallet and digital depository by December 2026. The services will integrate into the bank's Sberbank Online and SberInvestments platforms once the On Digital Currency and Digital Rights bill takes effect on September 1. Kirill Tsarev, first deputy chairman of Sberbank's management board, said the bank would prepare the offering as regulations emerge.
"it will be a crypto wallet, which we will implement first in Sberbank Online and SberInvestments," he stated. The legislation establishes licenses for crypto trading, custody, digital-to-fiat exchange, and cross-border settlements. Non-qualified investors may trade subject to testing requirements and an annual limit of roughly 300,000 rubles, or about $3,800.
Market participants have until July 1, 2027, to register officially. The Bank of Russia called for a broad ban on crypto trading, mining, and usage in January 2022. President Vladimir Putin signed a law in 2022 that tightened restrictions on using cryptocurrencies for domestic payments.
Russia legalized crypto mining and an experimental cross-border settlement regime in 2024. The Moscow Exchange has introduced cash-settled futures contracts on various cryptocurrencies. VTB and T-Bank are also developing digital depositories to operate after the new law takes effect.
