Russia’s biggest bank is preparing to bring crypto to the mainstream.
Sberbank has confirmed plans to roll out a cryptocurrency wallet inside its mobile apps and to build a regulated digital asset depository as the country’s new digital asset law approaches implementation. According to RBC, the bank aims to add the wallet shortly after the law takes effect on Sept. 1, with depository infrastructure scheduled to be ready by Dec. 1.
First Deputy Chairman Kirill Tsarev stressed the timetable depends on the publication of the law’s final text and the availability of updated Sberbank apps in stores — Android users are likely to see the changes before iPhone users. The rollout would sit alongside the Central Bank’s expectations: First Deputy Chairman Vladimir Chistyukhin has said the new licensing framework for custody, trading and cross-border crypto settlement is expected to begin on Sept. 1.
Sberbank — which controls roughly one-third of Russia’s banking assets and is majority state-owned — is also weighing a role as an intermediary that could let Russians access foreign crypto exchanges, contingent on a proposed legal amendment and on regulatory and foreign-exchange rules. That would be a notable move toward broader market access if approved.
This push builds on Sberbank’s steady expansion into digital assets. Deputy Chairman Anatoly Popov said late last year the bank has been exploring crypto-backed lending and collaborating with regulators on legal and technical plumbing for such products. Sberbank also reports it completed more than 160 digital asset issuances on its own platform since the start of 2025, while continuing to assess decentralized finance use cases and tokenization within Russia’s regulated financial system.
Other major players are preparing too. VTB and T-Bank Group have announced plans to set up digital asset depositories once the law takes effect, and the Moscow Exchange has said it intends to launch crypto-related operations before the end of 2026.
All of this activity is occurring in parallel with Russia’s digital-ruble timetable. Bank of Russia Governor Elvira Nabiullina recently reaffirmed that the central bank remains on track to launch the CBDC on Sept. 1, with major banks expected to enable digital ruble services in their apps from the same date.
Why it matters: Sberbank’s entry would bring mainstream banking infrastructure, scale and regulatory compliance into Russia’s nascent crypto market — potentially widening retail access and anchoring digital-asset services inside established financial apps. The final law text, licensing rules and app rollout timing will determine how quickly that vision becomes reality.
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