Russia’s largest bank Sberbank secures approval to trade crypto

Russia’s largest bank, Sberbank, has received approval to exchange cryptocurrencies, advancing Moscow’s effort to bring crypto trading and custody into its regulated financial system.

The Bank of Russia added Sberbank to its register of cryptocurrency exchange providers, according to Interfax. The bank had already joined the digital depository register earlier this month, giving it a role in recording clients’ crypto holdings.

There are now nine organizations on the exchange register, including VTB and T-Invest Lab.

The approval marks another step away from the central bank’s 2022 proposal to ban domestic crypto exchanges and prohibit Russian financial intermediaries from handling cryptocurrencies. A law that took effect Sept. 1 instead creates a regulated market involving banks, brokers, exchanges and digital depositories.

The two registrations cover different parts of that market. Registered crypto dealers can buy and sell cryptocurrencies using their own funds outside organized exchanges, while depositories record ownership and transfers, according to the central bank.

The combination provides a route to offer both trading and custody-related services for Sberbank, having also started working on a crypto wallet earlier this year.