Russia's Sberbank Aims to Launch Crypto Trading Infrastructure by December
Russia's largest bank, Sberbank, is building cryptocurrency trading infrastructure to meet the country's regulated financial system requirements. The project aims to launch a digital depository by December 1, which will record clients' ownership of cryptocurrencies and process most transactions outside the underlying blockchain.
The plan follows the approval of a law regulating cryptocurrency trading through licensed brokers, exchanges, asset managers, and depositories. The framework is set to take effect on September 1, although rules requiring transactions to pass through licensed intermediaries will apply from July 2027.
Public exchange trading will be limited to cryptocurrencies with an average market capitalization above 5 trillion rubles ($64 billion) and an average daily volume above 1 trillion rubles ($12.8 billion) over two years. Qualified investors, however, will have access to a broader range of assets.