The Bank of Russia added Sberbank, the country's largest lender, to its register of crypto exchange operators on October 12, clearing the bank to buy and sell digital currencies in its own name and with its own money. The regulator posted the decision on its website, and Interfax reported it.

The approval landed six days after the central bank placed Sberbank on its separate list of digital depositories — the firms that keep the official record of who owns which coins. Holding both statuses lets the bank sit on the other side of a client's trade and maintain the ledger of that client's holdings, without routing anyone to an outside venue.

What launches first, and when?

Sberbank plans to roll out its first crypto products on December 1 inside SberBank Online, SberInvestments and SberBusiness, starting with Bitcoin, Ethereum and Tether's USDT, according to its press service. The bank has hedged that date: it depends on the central bank's decisions and on secondary regulations being ready in time. Both central bank approvals have now arrived, which leaves the secondary rulebook as the main variable.

Sberbank said the depository status would let it offer crypto services in interfaces clients already use. The scale is the point. The bank ended the second quarter with 110.6 million retail clients and 3.5 million corporate clients, per its quarterly results. Plugging crypto into that base turns a regulated on-ramp into one more menu item inside an app customers already use for everyday banking.

How big could the volumes get?

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, rising to 7.5 trillion rubles — nearly $89.7 billion — by 2029. The bank also plans to accept Ethereum and USDT, alongside Bitcoin, as loan collateral once the central bank allows them into public circulation.

What are the retail limits?

The legal framework stays tight. Under the law President Vladimir Putin signed in August:

• Non-qualified investors can spend up to 300,000 rubles (about $3,800) per year, per intermediary
• Buyers must pass a mandatory knowledge test
• The central bank's draft list of tradable coins includes only Bitcoin, Ethereum and USDT

Paying for goods with crypto remains illegal in Russia. Sberbank customers will be able to buy Bitcoin, but they can't spend it at the checkout.

The shift marks a sharp reversal for the regulator itself. 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's licensing the country's biggest lender to run a crypto desk.

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 — a compliance window that now anchors the timetable for every operator in the regime.