Sber Plans To Accept USDT and ETH as Crypto Loan Collateral

Russia's Sber plans to add USDT and ETH as loan collateral once regulators approve them for exchange trading, while its CFO publicly questions demand for the digital ruble.

Crypto Regulation & Banking News

Russia's regulated crypto market officially opens on Sept. 1, 2026, and Sber is already reshaping its product lineup accordingly.

The country's largest bank by assets plans to add Tether (

) and Ethereum (

) to its list of accepted

collateral, joining Bitcoin (

), which the bank already accepts. Deputy Chairman Anatoly Popov confirmed the plan in comments

by TASS on Aug. 29, saying the additions will follow the Bank of Russia's formal approval of each asset for domestic regulated trading.

The legal foundation for this is a crypto law signed by President Vladimir Putin on Aug. 4, which gives the Bank of Russia sole authority to determine which digital assets qualify for listing on regulated exchanges. On Aug. 11, the central bank put forward BTC, ETH, and USDT as its first candidates, citing their market caps, trading volumes, and verifiable price histories spanning at least five years on international markets.

Sber Takes a Gradual Approach to New Collateral