Sberbank, Russia's largest bank by assets, has become the first domestic lender authorized by the Bank of Russia to custody bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, according to an Oct. 7 announcement from the bank.

The central bank cleared Sberbank to provide "digital currency record-keeping" and to facilitate transfers of such assets, the lender said. Approval covers bitcoin and other, smaller cryptocurrencies.

What did the Bank of Russia authorize?

The license permits Sberbank to hold bitcoin and select cryptocurrencies on behalf of clients and to process inter-account transfers within the bank's books. The carve-out is the first of its kind granted to a Russian bank under the country's evolving digital-asset framework.

Sberbank disclosed in July 2026 that it intended to launch a bitcoin and crypto wallet alongside custody by December. Wednesday's authorization advances that timeline.

How will the custody product work?

Clients will reach the service through three existing channels — SberBank Online, SberInvestments, and SberBusiness — with no new applications or external platforms introduced.

"For users, this means that digital currency transactions are moving into familiar banking interfaces — complete with standard customer identification, transaction monitoring, and reporting," Sberbank said in its statement.

Before mass rollout, custody will go to a limited number of customers. That restricted-access phase mirrors pilot structures regulators typically demand before full distribution. The bank framed the launch as a layer onto existing infrastructure rather than a separate product line, keeping compliance, KYC, and reporting consistent with its retail banking rails.

What regulatory groundwork preceded the approval?

President Vladimir Putin signed a law in October regulating digital currencies and digital rights, codifying a framework the State Duma had prepared as comprehensive digital-asset legislation through 2026. The Bank of Russia published draft rules for crypto trading in July as part of that legislative sequence.

Putin has publicly endorsed bitcoin, telling reporters in December 2024 that the leading cryptocurrency "can't be stopped." Russian authorities have since designed a system that treats digital assets as a tradable and custodied instrument while sharply limiting their payment function.

What restrictions remain in force?

Using cryptocurrencies as a means of payment or legal tender inside Russia remains prohibited. The 2022 payment ban on crypto is unaffected by the new custody regime and continues to bar merchants and consumers from settling transactions with digital assets in ruble-based retail systems.

The split design lets institutional players accumulate, transfer, and eventually trade bitcoin under supervision, even as domestic retail circulation remains off-limits. That separation is the defining feature of Russia's emerging market structure.

What comes next?

Sberbank's limited rollout will run through the fourth quarter, with the bank targeting December for broader wallet and custody operations. Whether competing Russian lenders receive comparable authorizations depends on how the Bank of Russia scales its supervisory pipeline under the 2026 statute. The central bank has not disclosed a queue of pending applicants or a timeline for further approvals.