Sberbank is preparing corporate lending products secured by cryptocurrency, according to comments from a bank spokesperson cited by Reuters. The planned product would let companies pledge digital assets as collateral, with the bank aiming at crypto mining firms and other corporates that already carry digital assets on their balance sheets.
The lender said the move responds to strong client demand and that it is ready to work with Russia’s central bank on the regulatory framework required for such loans. If launched, Sberbank would join a small group of banks testing crypto-backed financing. In Russia, Sovkombank had already become the first lender to issue loans backed by cryptocurrency.
A late-2025 pilot tested the structure
The plan follows a pilot transaction completed in late 2025 with mining company AO Intelion Data. The deal was publicly disclosed in December 2025 and involved Intelion pledging self-mined cryptocurrency as collateral for a corporate loan.
For custody and risk management, Sberbank used its own digital asset infrastructure together with a Rutoken hardware solution to secure the collateral during the life of the loan. The bank did not disclose the size or tenor of the transaction, describing it as a technical and operational test rather than a full commercial launch. At the time, executive board deputy chairman Anatoly Popov said the transaction was designed to test digital collateral mechanisms and could later inform regulation.
Digital asset issuance on the platform has climbed sharply
The lending initiative fits into Sberbank’s broader digital financial asset buildout. The bank first outlined plans for a digital financial asset platform in late 2020. It received central bank approval to operate as a digital financial asset issuer in March 2022, and its proprietary blockchain platform completed its first transaction in July 2022.
Activity has expanded quickly since then. Disclosures show total digital financial asset issuance on Sberbank’s platform reached 408 billion rubles in 2025, up from 73 billion rubles a year earlier and 2 billion rubles in 2023. In January 2026 alone, new issuance came to 231 billion rubles. The volume of digital assets held on the platform also rose from 25 billion rubles to 185 billion rubles over a six-month period.
Regulation still sets the limits
Russia’s central bank currently classifies cryptocurrencies as foreign exchange assets. They can be bought and sold, but they cannot be used for domestic payments. That leaves room for structures tied to collateral, while also raising legal and operational questions around enforcement, valuation, liquidation rights, and treatment during periods of market stress.
The regulator has set July 1, 2026 as the deadline to finalize a broader legislative framework for crypto assets. For banks such as Sberbank, that creates a window to test lending structures with real transactions before any larger commercial rollout.