The Bank of Russia has added Sberbank, the country's largest bank, to its register of cryptocurrency exchange providers, according to CoinDesk, which cited Interfax. The listing follows Sberbank's earlier inclusion on the digital depository register and allows it to buy and sell cryptocurrencies using its own funds. Sberbank has said it plans to launch crypto products on Dec. 1, 2026, through existing platforms including SberBank Online, SberInvestments and SberBusiness, according to Cointelegraph, and it is already testing purchases, sales, deposits and withdrawals in the SberBank Online app, Vedomosti reported, citing the bank's press office. Both outlets report that domestic crypto payments remain prohibited in Russia.
Bank of Russia adds Sberbank to crypto exchange register ahead of December launch
The Bank of Russia has added Sberbank, the country's largest bank, to its register of cryptocurrency exchange providers, according to CoinDesk, which cited Interfax. The listing follows Sberbank's earlier inclusion on the digital depository register and allows it to buy and sell cryptocurrencies using its own funds. Sberbank has said it plans to launch crypto products on Dec. 1, 2026, through existing platforms including SberBank Online, SberInvestments and SberBusiness, according to Cointelegraph, and it is already testing purchases, sales, deposits and withdrawals in the SberBank Online app, Vedomosti reported, citing the bank's press office. Both outlets report that domestic crypto payments remain prohibited in Russia.
The registrations sit within a framework created by Russian legislation that took effect Sept. 1, 2026, which placed exchange operators and digital custodians under central bank oversight. CoinDesk described the law as a shift away from the central bank's 2022 proposal to ban domestic crypto exchanges and bar Russian financial intermediaries from handling cryptocurrencies. The two registration types cover different functions: CoinDesk, citing the central bank, reported that registered crypto dealers can trade using their own funds outside organized exchanges, while depositories record ownership and transfers.
Sberbank has been preparing trading infrastructure and has also worked on a crypto wallet, according to CoinDesk. CoinDesk reported that the bank is testing trades in BTC, ETH, USDT and other major tokens in its app, and that the central bank will set the final list of permitted coins, as Sberbank told Vedomosti. Cointelegraph reported the bank plans products supporting Bitcoin, Ether and Tether's USDt, and that Sberbank said the final launch timeline depends on additional central bank regulations.
CoinDesk reported that domestic crypto payments stay banned and that, from July 2027, crypto transactions will have to pass through registered intermediaries, which it said would effectively exclude peer-to-peer transactions settled via Russian bank accounts. Cointelegraph also reported that using cryptocurrencies to pay for goods and services remains prohibited in the country.
CoinDesk reported that VTB and T-Invest Lab are also on the exchange register. Cointelegraph named Sberbank and VTB alongside nonbank companies including T-Invest Lab and Atomyze among listed entities.
Where sources differ
- The size of the register differs between outlets: CoinDesk reported there are now nine organizations on the exchange register, including VTB and T-Invest Lab; Cointelegraph reported that the Bank of Russia's updated register, dated Tuesday, lists 10 authorized crypto exchange operators and six digital custodians, up from four and five a week earlier.
- CoinDesk attributed news of Sberbank's addition to the register to Interfax, while Cointelegraph based its report on the central bank's updated register dated Tuesday.
- Neither source establishes why the counts of registered exchange operators differ, nor reconciles CoinDesk's figure of nine with Cointelegraph's figure of 10.
- No direct statement from the Bank of Russia about the specific approval of Sberbank appears in either source; the central bank's positions are reported through attribution rather than quoted comment.
- Neither source names which cryptocurrencies will ultimately be permitted, or the criteria and timing for the central bank's final coin list.
- Neither source details fees, trading limits, or how the requirement to route transactions through registered intermediaries from July 2027 would be enforced.
- Neither source includes a response from Sberbank beyond the press-office information cited by Vedomosti.
- Neither source confirms whether the Dec. 1, 2026 date is firm, and Cointelegraph reports the bank said the timeline depends on further central bank regulations.
- Neither source reports the date on which Sberbank joined the digital depository register consistently: CoinDesk says earlier this month, Cointelegraph says last Tuesday.
- CoinDesk — original — by Francisco Rodrigues
- Cointelegraph — by Cointelegraph by Helen Partz