Russia’s central bank has expanded the list of companies allowed to provide crypto trading services as the country’s two largest state-controlled banks prepare to offer Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies to retail clients before year-end.
In a notice posted Thursday on the regulator’s website, the Bank of Russia said it had added Prosto LLC as the 17th company on its register of crypto exchange service providers. The register had only four members when it launched on Oct. 6. A separate register for independent digital depositories, which are used to record token ownership, has also grown to eight members.
The registrations mark the formal rollout of Russia’s law "On Digital Currencies and Digital Rights," which took effect on Sept. 1. The law brings crypto trading into Russia’s regulated financial system for the first time.
Sberbank and VTB hold both licenses
The Bank of Russia said Sberbank and VTB, the country’s two biggest state-controlled banks, were among the first five digital depositories approved on Oct. 6. VTB was also listed that day as a crypto exchange service provider. Interfax reported that Sberbank formally entered the exchange provider register on Oct. 12.
Holding both licenses allows a bank to buy and sell cryptocurrencies in its own name and to record and safeguard client holdings. The central bank said exchange service providers can trade digital currencies on their own account outside organized trading venues, while digital depositories handle asset registration, transfers and client access to the addresses where assets are held.
VTB said its brokerage unit completed its first stablecoin transaction for a corporate client on Oct. 6 and settled it through an account opened with its newly established digital depository.
According to Interfax, VTB Deputy President and Chairman of the Management Board Vitaly Sergeichuk said: 「We expect to fully open digital currency trading access for investors in November and December 2026 through the VTB My Investments app and directly through the bank’s trading system.」
Interfax also reported that Sberbank plans to launch its first crypto products through its existing mobile banking app on Dec. 1, though the timing depends on whether related regulatory rules are ready. CoinDesk separately reported that the bank is already conducting closed testing inside the app for trading in Bitcoin, Ether and USDT.
Retail investors face a 300,000-ruble annual cap
The new framework draws a clear line between non-qualified retail investors and qualified investors.
The Bank of Russia said in July that non-qualified retail investors, after passing a dedicated test, would be allowed to buy only a small group of the most liquid cryptocurrencies. Their total annual purchases through any single intermediary cannot exceed 300,000 rubles, or about $3,800. Qualified investors must also pass a test, but they face no limits on asset selection or transaction size and can trade any cryptocurrency.
Using cryptocurrency to pay for goods and services inside Russia remains strictly prohibited.
Cross-border trade companies, however, can use crypto in import and export settlements without such restrictions. They can do so through compliant intermediaries or by using any type of self-hosted wallet directly.
Sberbank is already active in that segment. Interfax reported that First Deputy Chairman Alexander Vedyakhin said the bank launched a crypto cross-border payment service for foreign trade companies on Sept. 1. Peer-to-peer wallet transfers settle within minutes, there is no minimum payment threshold, and the average fee is 0.3%.
Vedyakhin added that the service was made possible by a regulatory sandbox pilot that the Bank of Russia has been running under an experimental legal regime since September 2024.
More firms join as approval takes one business day
The two state lenders are not alone. T-Technologies, the parent company of T-Bank, has registered its Atomyze unit as a digital depository and its T-Invest Lab unit as a crypto exchange service provider.
Records from the Bank of Russia show that a number of newly established financial and technology firms have since joined the exchange register. Interfax reported that MTS Bank, part of a telecom group, also plans to launch basic cryptocurrency trading services in the fourth quarter.
The central bank said commercial banks and other licensed financial institutions can apply to join the register through a simplified process that takes just one business day.
Transition period runs until September 2027
The Bank of Russia said institutions already on the register have a transition period lasting until Sept. 1, 2027, and must bring all business processes into full compliance with the law by that date.
The regulator also said that from July 1, 2027, Russian residents will be allowed to buy and sell cryptocurrencies only through registered, licensed intermediaries. That would effectively end over-the-counter peer-to-peer trading that had previously been settled through Russian bank accounts.
From the same date, Russian authorities plan to impose tough penalties on unlicensed entities that provide crypto intermediary services, with punishment aligned with existing criminal standards for illegal banking activity.
The original report was written by DL News reporter Kyle Pare and translated by TechFlow.