Sberbank Forecasts Huge Crypto Trading Volume on Russia's Regulated Exchanges

Sberbank has forecasted that cryptocurrency trading on Russia's regulated exchanges will reach between $40.6 billion and $46.4 billion in the first year after the country's new digital-asset rules take effect.

The prediction is based on estimates from SberCIB Investment Research, which expects exchange-based volume to rise to 3.5 trillion to 4 trillion rubles ($40.6 billion-$46.4 billion) during the initial 12 months.

Deputy Chairman Anatoly Popov said that only about 20% of Russia's estimated $18 trillion annual cryptocurrency transactions will move onto regulated exchanges initially, with a substantial share continuing through other crypto exchange services.