Sberbank Gains Official License from Russia’s Central Bank to Operate Crypto Exchanges

Russia’s central bank has added Sberbank to its official registry of entities authorized to exchange digital currencies, according to reports.

Earlier this month, Sberbank was included in the list of digital depositories, which will maintain records of cryptocurrencies and associated digital rights.

The bank now joins eight other entities on the exchange register, including state‑controlled VTB (Russia’s second‑largest bank) and T‑Invest Lab, a unit of T‑Technologies that also owns online lender T‑Bank, according to a Monday Interfax report.

The announcement arrives as Russia accelerates its regulatory framework for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Last month, Sberbank became the first institution in the country to receive approval for Bitcoin custody.

The Bank of Russia granted the bank a green light for digital‑currency record‑keeping and to facilitate the transfer of such assets, encompassing Bitcoin and other, smaller cryptocurrencies.

“This status will enable the bank to offer services for organizing the circulation of digital currency on interfaces clients already use,” Sberbank was quoted as saying in the report.

A law governing digital currencies and digital rights entered into force in Russia on 1 September, establishing a comprehensive legal framework for cryptocurrency circulation. Transactions involving cryptocurrencies may now be conducted not only through existing exchange, broker, and trustee infrastructure but also via crypto exchanges and digital depositories.

Cryptocurrency can be bought and sold on crypto exchanges, while the associated rights are recorded in digital depositories.

Banks and other organizations have been eligible to apply for the relevant licenses from the Central Bank of the Russian Federation (CBR) since 5 October. Certain established participants benefit from a streamlined notification‑based licensing process that can be completed within a single day.

Under the new rules, unqualified investors will be permitted to purchase Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, including stablecoins, up to an annual limit of 300,000 rubles (≈ $3,556) through a single intermediary.

Qualified investors will have unrestricted access to all cryptocurrencies traded on both exchange and over‑the‑counter markets.

Sberbank plans to launch its crypto wallet in December, coinciding with the Moscow Exchange’s debut of crypto trading in the same month.

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