Sberbank has been approved to conduct cryptocurrency trading and plans to open BTC and ETH trading in December

According to CoinDesk, Russia's largest bank Sberbank has received approval from the Central Bank of Russia to conduct cryptocurrency trading. According to Interfax, the Central Bank of Russia has included Sberbank in the registry of cryptocurrency trading service providers. The bank has also entered the registry of digital asset custodians, qualifying it to record customers' cryptocurrency holdings.

Sberbank plans to launch cryptocurrency trading services to users through its existing client portal starting December 1. It is currently testing trading functions for assets such as BTC, ETH, and USDT within the app, and the final list of tokens supported for trading will be determined by the Central Bank of Russia. This approval signifies a further shift towards compliance in the regulation of the Russian cryptocurrency market. In 2022, the Central Bank of Russia proposed a ban on domestic cryptocurrency trading platforms and financial institutions participating in cryptocurrency activities, but new regulations that took effect in September of this year began to establish a regulated market involving banks, brokers, trading platforms, and digital asset custodians.

Currently, there are 9 institutions on the Central Bank of Russia's registry of cryptocurrency trading service providers, including VTB and T-Invest Lab. However, the use of cryptocurrencies for payments remains prohibited within Russia. The Central Bank of Russia stated that starting in July next year, cryptocurrency trading must be conducted through registered intermediaries, and peer-to-peer transactions conducted through bank accounts may be subject to restrictions.