# Russia’s Sberbank Wins Approval to Operate as a Crypto Exchange

By Riza Dagoc

Canonical URL: https://www.tokenpost.com/news/regulation/31036
Published: 2026-10-13T11:05:45.000Z
Updated: 2026-10-13T11:05:45.000Z
Section: Regulation

> The bank was also registered as a digital depository and plans to introduce its first crypto products through existing customer interfaces on Dec. 1.

Sberbank, Russia’s largest bank, received approval from the Bank of Russia to operate as a cryptocurrency exchange, bringing one of the country’s biggest financial institutions into its regulated digital-asset market.

The central bank added Public Joint Stock Company Sberbank of Russia to its register of authorized digital-currency exchange organizations on Oct. 12. Sberbank had already entered the digital-depository register on Oct. 6, allowing it to record and transfer digital currencies and digital rights.

Sberbank plans to introduce its first crypto products on Dec. 1 through interfaces already used by its customers. The bank’s planned expansion follows Russia’s digital-currency law, which took effect Sept. 1 and established a framework for registered exchange operators and digital depositories.

The Bank of Russia’s framework separates exchange services from digital-depository functions. Exchange operators may buy and sell digital currencies outside organized trading venues, while digital depositories record ownership and transfers. Domestic cryptocurrency payments remain prohibited.