Sberbank, the largest bank in Russia, plans to build a digital depository that will record client cryptocurrency ownership and process trades outside the main blockchain, alongside active wallets to handle client transfers, by December 1, 2026, according to Interfax. First Deputy Chairman Alexander Vedyakhin announced the timeline in a statement distributed by the bank’s press service. The plan follows the State Duma’s July 21 passage of a law that creates Russia’s first full framework for crypto trading, custody and settlement.
The Digital Depository and the Law Behind It
Vedyakhin said the digital depository will record client crypto ownership and process transactions outside the main blockchain, while active wallets handle transfers, deposits, and withdrawals. The system is based on the “On Digital Currencies and Digital Rights” bill, which Russia’s State Duma passed on July 21. The legislation creates a chain running from retail purchases through licensed intermediaries to exchange trading, clearing, and depositories.
The Bank of Russia will oversee that system starting September 1, 2026, when the law’s five categories of regulated participants become active, and has already set liquidity thresholds for eligible assets: an average market capitalization above 5 trillion rubles, roughly $64 billion, and average daily trading volume above 1 trillion rubles over a two-year period.
Vedyakhin noted regulators and the market still need to draft rules covering depository record-keeping, accounting and licensing for new intermediary categories. Sberbank has been preparing for this since 2022, when it registered as an information systems operator. The bank began offering qualified investors structured bonds and digital financial assets tied to Bitcoin, Ethereum and crypto baskets in 2025, and completed a pilot project in December 2025 testing crypto-backed lending.
What This Means for Russian Crypto Users
Once Sberbank’s infrastructure is live, Russian investors could get a regulated, bank-run path into crypto trading, backed by the same licensing rules and liquidity thresholds the Bank of Russia is building into the broader market, instead of relying on offshore exchanges or informal transfer channels.
Sberbank already offers qualified investors bitcoin and ether-linked structured bonds and digital financial assets from its 2025 rollout, giving the new depository an existing customer base to plug into from day one. It’s a pattern that goes beyond Russia; banks and regulators elsewhere are building similar paths into crypto, and our ongoing crypto news coverage keeps track of how that’s developing worldwide.
What Happens When the Law Takes Effect on Sept. 1
The law’s broader framework takes effect September 1, 2026, when five categories of regulated market participants, including exchanges, brokers, asset managers, custodians and exchange service providers, begin operating under Bank of Russia oversight and must meet the liquidity thresholds already set for eligible crypto assets.
Sberbank’s December 1 target puts its own systems in place three months after that deadline, giving the bank a window to test its depository against live rules, rather than build against a draft, before regulators start enforcing licensing requirements across the broader market.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Do your own research before making any investment decisions.
What this means for you: If you hold crypto in Russia, or you’re just curious how a bank might handle it, this is worth watching. Starting December 1, Sberbank wants to be one of the first big banks to store and move crypto for customers directly, instead of requiring customers to use an outside exchange. Whether that works smoothly, and whether it’s as safe as promised, will be one of the first real signs of how well banks can handle crypto once the new government rules kick in on September 1.
