Russia's Biggest Bank Sberbank Wins Approval to Trade Bitcoin
Summary
The Bank of Russia has authorized Sberbank to exchange digital currencies and act as a digital depository, allowing it to trade crypto for its own account and record customers’ holdings. The lender plans to offer Bitcoin, Ethereum and USDT through its banking and investment apps from December 1, subject to secondary regulations being finalized. The new framework caps non-qualified investors’ purchases at 300,000 rubles per year per intermediary and requires a knowledge test. Crypto payments remain illegal in Russia. Sberbank also plans to accept the three assets as loan collateral if permitted.
