Sberbank plans to offer cryptocurrency trading; the Russian Duma has passed the bill on its first reading

According to a report by Russia’s TASS on April 22, Ruslan Vestrovskiy, senior vice president and head of wealth management at Russia’s Sberbank (Sberbank), said at the Moscow Exchange Forum that once crypto-related regulation is implemented and exchanges begin conducting organized trading, Sberbank will provide crypto trading services to its clients. On the same day, the Russian State Duma passed the crypto-asset regulatory bill on its first reading.

Sberbank’s statement: Offer crypto trading after regulation is in place

According to a TASS report on April 22, Ruslan Vestrovskiy, senior vice president at Sberbank, publicly stated at the Moscow Exchange Forum that after relevant regulations are issued and exchanges begin conducting organized trading, Sberbank will coordinate with other market participants and regulators to prepare to provide crypto trading services to clients.

In terms of crypto-related business, in 2025 Sberbank expanded the issuance scale of digital financial assets to 408 billion rubles, exceeding the figure for 2024 and continuing the growth trend it has maintained since 2023. In December 2025, Sberbank issued a pilot loan to Intelion Data that was collateralized with Bitcoin; the Bitcoin obtained from mining was used as collateral, and the bank used its own crypto asset custody system to store the collateral.

Russia’s State Duma passes the crypto bill on first reading: Key contents

According to relevant reports, on April 22 the Russian State Duma passed the crypto-asset regulatory bill on its first reading with 327 votes in favor, with all 340 lawmakers present and voting. The bill was submitted by the Russian government and is intended to establish a framework for the issuance, trading, and storage of digital currencies under the supervision of the Bank of Russia (the Central Bank). Key provisions include:

· Classifying crypto assets as property, allowing them to be used in legal disputes

· Prohibiting their use domestically as a means of payment, while allowing cross-border transactions

· Introducing an investor-tiering system and implementing stricter controls over peer-to-peer (P2P) activities

· Establishing a regulated crypto asset custody system

· Requiring mining operations to use domestic infrastructure

· The bill still needs to pass two more rounds of review, and some officials have proposed amendments, arguing that the current provisions create issues by limiting the market and asset protection.

Current status of Russia’s crypto-asset regulatory framework

According to a domestic crypto-asset regulatory concept published by the Bank of Russia in December 2025, the framework’s core points include: allowing both qualified and unqualified investors to purchase crypto assets; defining digital currencies and stablecoins as tradable currency assets, but prohibiting their use for domestic payments; and for unqualified investors, after passing a test, allowing them to obtain the most liquid crypto assets within an annual limit of 300k rubles through a single intermediary.

According to relevant reports, Russian authorities expect to complete the legislative work on digital assets by July 1, 2026.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Sberbank’s latest position on crypto-asset trading business?

According to a TASS report on April 22, at the Moscow Exchange Forum, Ruslan Vestrovskiy, senior vice president at Sberbank, said that once the relevant regulatory rules are issued and exchanges begin conducting organized trading, Sberbank will coordinate with market participants and regulators to provide crypto trading services to clients.

What key provisions does the crypto bill approved on first reading by the Russian State Duma on April 22 include?

According to relevant reports, the bill classifies crypto assets as property, allows cross-border transactions while prohibiting domestic payments, introduces an investor-tiering system and controls over P2P activities, establishes a regulated crypto asset custody system, and requires mining to use domestic infrastructure; the bill still needs to pass two rounds of review.

When is the expected completion date for Russia’s digital-asset legislation?

According to relevant reports, Russian authorities expect to complete the legislative work on digital assets by July 1, 2026. Previously, the Bank of Russia published a domestic crypto-asset regulatory concept in December 2025, setting a framework for qualified and unqualified investors to purchase crypto assets.