Russia's largest private bank, Alfa Bank, plans to offer cryptocurrency services to its clients

According to Bits.media, Russia's largest private bank, Alfa-Bank, has announced plans to become a digital custodian and provide cryptocurrency-related services, not only for its own clients but also for other legal entities. Dmitry Vitman, the bank's Chief Operating Officer, stated that the bank aims to create investment tools based on open blockchain to attract foreign investors and develop proprietary products and tools that can compete in the international market.

He anticipates that after the government cryptocurrency regulatory bill comes into effect, Russia may see retail brokerage services emerge between the end of 2026 and early 2027, involving both Russian and foreign infrastructure, but large-scale liquidity is not expected until at least the end of 2027. Digital custodians are regulated entities responsible under Russian law for monitoring all client cryptocurrency transactions and freezing transfers to addresses not approved by the state.