BREAKING: Russia's Biggest Bank Sberbank Wins Crypto Trading Approval — Bitcoin, Ethereum and USDT Launch Set for December 1
Russia's biggest bank has just taken a major step into crypto. Sberbank, the country's largest lender, has secured approval from the Bank of Russia to trade cryptocurrencies, and it is now listed on the central bank's register of authorized crypto exchange operators.
The updated register, dated Tuesday, now lists about 10 authorized exchange operators and six digital custodians, up from far fewer a week earlier. Sberbank also secured digital custodian status earlier this month, so it now holds both registrations — one for trading and one for recording customers' crypto holdings. Other major names on the lists include VTB and T-Invest Lab.
Sberbank says it plans to open crypto trading to all clients on December 1. The bank is already testing buying, selling, deposits and withdrawals in its app, starting with Bitcoin, Ethereum and Tether's USDT. Customers will not need a new app — the service is planned inside SberBank Online, SberInvestments and SberBusiness, which people already use for everyday banking.
This move follows Russia's new crypto rules, which took effect on September 1 and placed exchange operators and custodians under central bank oversight. Crypto still cannot be used to pay for goods and services inside Russia, and Sberbank says its final launch timeline and final coin list still depend on more central bank rules.
For traders, this is a big institutional signal. When a country's largest bank offers Bitcoin and Ethereum inside its normal banking app, crypto becomes easier for millions of regular customers to access through a regulated channel, instead of only through outside exchanges. That could bring fresh demand over time, but traders should remember the launch is still weeks away on December 1, so any price reaction now is based on expectation, not live buying yet.
This post is news only, not financial advice. Always do your own research before buying or selling crypto.
Sources: CoinDesk, Cointelegraph, Traders Union
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