Russia's Biggest Bank Sberbank Wins Approval to Trade Bitcoin

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Sberbank's Crypto Strategy":"Sberbank plans to offer crypto services in interfaces clients already use, such as SberBank Online, SberInvestments, and SberBusiness. The bank aims to start with Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Tether's USDT on December 1. The bank has 110.6 million retail clients and 3.5 million corporate clients, according to its quarterly results. Deputy Chairman Anatoly Popov has forecast that crypto trading volumes in Russia could reach 4 trillion rubles, roughly $46 billion, in the regime's first year and 7.5 trillion rubles by 2029, nearly $89.7 billion.","

Regulatory Environment":"The Bank of Russia has added Sberbank to its register of organizations authorized to exchange digital currencies, clearing the country's largest lender to buy and sell crypto in its own name and with its own money. The approval came six days after the central bank put Sberbank on its separate list of digital depositories. The bank has hedged that date, saying it depends on the central bank's decisions and on the secondary regulations being ready in time. Both approvals by the Bank of Russia have now arrived, leaving the secondary rulebook as the main variable.","

Legal Framework":"Non-qualified investors can spend up to 300,000 rubles (about $3,800) a year per intermediary, buyers must pass a knowledge test, and the central bank's draft list of tradable coins includes only Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Tether (USDT). In January 2022, the Bank of Russia proposed banning crypto use, mining, and exchanges outright, citing threats to financial stability. Less than five years later, it is licensing the country's biggest lender to run a crypto desk. As of today, spending crypto inside Russia is still illegal, so Sberbank customers will be able to buy Bitcoin but not pay for products with it. Firms already on the registers have until September 1, 2027, to bring their operations fully in line with the new law, the central bank said."}