Sberbank Unveils Off-Chain Crypto Trading System for December Launch

Sberbank, Russia's largest bank, plans to launch an off-chain crypto trading system on December 1. The new platform will leverage the country's new digital asset law, which takes effect on September 1.

The system will record customer ownership on internal ledgers and keep deposit, withdrawal, and transfer wallets under bank control. This design gives the bank full visibility over flows, simplifies reporting to authorities, and limits exposure to cross-border movement that sanctions enforcement agencies track on open networks.

The project is part of a legislative sequence that gives the market structure almost no time to adjust. Russia's new digital asset framework introduces the legal basis for regulated crypto operations, but the full licensing regime for intermediaries won't be mandatory until July 2027.