Sberbank to Build Crypto Depository as Russia Formalizes Digital Asset Market

Sberbank, Russia’s largest state-owned lender, is preparing to launch an institutional cryptocurrency trading infrastructure centered on a specialized digital depository by Dec. 1. The initiative represents the banking giant’s major operational push into digital asset custody as Moscow moves to integrate cryptocurrencies into its regulated domestic financial system.

According to details reported by Interfax and Sberbank executive leadership, the planned digital depository will function as an off-chain ledger to record ownership rights and process transactions outside primary public blockchains. Sberbank will directly operate active client wallets to handle deposits, withdrawals, and asset transfers.

“One of the key elements of the new infrastructure will be a digital depository, which will maintain records of clients’ cryptocurrency rights and account for transactions outside the main blockchain,” said Alexander Vedyakhin, first deputy chairman of Sberbank’s management board, in statements issued through state press channels. “It will also facilitate transactions on active wallets to fulfill clients’ currency transfer orders.”

The institutional rollout follows recent legislative action in the Russian State Duma, where lawmakers completed final readings on a landmark bill designed to establish a comprehensive regulatory framework for digital asset transactions across the country.

Under the legislative blueprint, the Bank of Russia receives sweeping oversight powers over the market. The central bank is empowered to determine which digital currencies may be traded through licensed domestic intermediaries and to issue secondary regulatory mandates. To qualify for official listing, assets must meet strict central bank liquidity benchmarks, including a two-year average market capitalization exceeding 5 trillion rubles (~$64 billion) and an average daily trading volume above 1 trillion rubles (~$12.8 billion).

When the regulatory framework takes full effect on Sept. 1, 2026, it will establish five regulated categories of market participants: cryptocurrency exchanges, brokers, asset managers, custodians, and exchange service providers. The law defines specific legal requirements for entity types permitted to hold, trade, or clear digital assets within Russian jurisdiction.

Moscow’s drive to build domestic crypto infrastructure comes as Western authorities increase enforcement against foreign digital asset platforms linked to Russian trade. The European Council recently added international cryptocurrency exchange HTX, formerly Huobi Global, to its sanctions list alongside 18 external entities accused of frustrating EU financial restrictions imposed after Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. In tandem, European regulators barred Belarusian citizens and residents from owning or managing digital asset service providers in compliance with the bloc’s Markets in Crypto-Assets framework.

The EU measures follow earlier sanctions imposed on HTX by the United Kingdom in May, grounded in findings that the exchange facilitated financial transactions involving sanctioned Russian entities. By bringing clearing and custodial services within state-backed institutions like Sberbank, Russian officials seek to maintain domestic oversight over capital flows while insulating local investors from external sanctions enforcement.