Sberbank and VTB take three of the nine slots in Russia's first crypto registers
Bank of Russia's first crypto registers give Sberbank and VTB three of the nine slots. Both banks plan to open crypto trading to their clients by December, though Sberbank's listing so far covers custody alone.
The Investor · Invest desk
What happened
- Sberbank plans to start crypto trading and custody on Dec. 1, initially supporting bitcoin, ether and USDT.
- VTB deputy CEO Vitaly Sergeichuk said the bank expects to open digital currency trading through VTB My Investments as early as November, with its own exchange following in December.
- The other six slots go to Zefir, Sistema Crypto and T Invest Lab as exchange operators, and to Atomyze, Voltari and Cloud Infrastructure as custodians.
- Every registered firm must follow transaction and accounting rules from the day it enters the register and has until Sept. 1, 2027 to meet the remaining requirements.
Why it matters
- What it sets up precedent Existing financial market participants can use a simplified admission route, so later register rounds favor banks and brokers over new crypto-native applicants.
- What it costs cost Under July's draft rules a new custodian needs 50 million to 250 million rubles of equity depending on its services, an entry cost that weighs most on firms without an existing balance sheet.
- What it limits constraint With the ban on paying for goods and services in crypto kept in place, the banks can sell it only as an asset to hold, trade or, under Sberbank's August plan, pledge as loan collateral.
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Bank of Russia gives peer-to-peer crypto trading until July 1, 2027Confirmed5 publishers
The two registers hold nine entries between them, four exchange operators and five custodians [14], but only eight firms, because VTB sits on both lists [3]. Sberbank and VTB fill a third of the entries and are two of the eight firms [16].
The more interesting term is Sberbank's own listing. Its custodian slot covers recording assets, processing transfers and giving clients access to the addresses where their holdings sit [12]. Buying and selling crypto in a firm's own name and with its own money, outside organized trading venues, is what an exchange operator is registered to do [11]. Sberbank describes its Dec. 1 infrastructure as covering trading and settlement as well as depository services [7]. According to Cointelegraph, the bank said on Monday that it had applied for custodian status [10]. The central bank published its registers on Tuesday [2]. Of the two banks, only VTB holds both roles today [3].
That leaves Sberbank three routes to Dec. 1. It can pass client orders to a registered operator, VTB or one of the three others [4], keeping custody and the customer while another firm's book takes the trade. It can win an exchange-operator listing of its own before launch. Or it can open with custody and add trading later. In the first and third cases, VTB's exchange is the bank-owned venue best placed to take early flow. If Sergeichuk's November date holds, VTB's retail access also arrives before Sberbank's [20].
The banks' edge is distribution. Sberbank, Russia's largest lender [9], plans to run its crypto services through SberBank Online, SberInvestments and SberBusiness [8], apps its clients already use. A Sberbank customer who wants bitcoin does not have to open an account at a new firm. On that basis I'd expect the two banks to carry most of the retail money that enters the regulated market in its first year.
The evidence for that view is timing and existing apps, nothing more. Neither the Bank of Russia nor the banks published client or volume figures. If the three other exchange operators report more trading than VTB in the months after launch, the bank-led reading is wrong.
What to watch
- Whether the Bank of Russia adds Sberbank to the exchange-operator register before its Dec. 1 launch, or Sberbank names an operator to route client trades through.
- The first client or trading figures from VTB My Investments after a November start, set against the three other registered exchange operators.
Information, not investment advice. This story is general information about companies and markets, drawn from cited reporting. It is not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold any security; check the cited sources before acting.
Clarity's read
What the record supports and how the coverage leans. The claims behind it follow.
Reality
- Evidence72
- Adoption15
- Hype gap+10
- Incentives40
- Confidence70
Perspective Coverage
4 publishers- Builder
- Builder 11%
- Operator
- Operator 48%
- Investor
- Investor 41%
Claim ledger
Ranked by verification strength, evidence, and original report placement.
- [1]
Russia has registered its first four cryptocurrency exchange operators and five digital custodians under the regulated crypto market that opened on Sept. 1.
- [2]
The Bank of Russia on Tuesday published its first registers of authorized crypto operators, listing four exchange operators and five custodians.
- [3]
Sberbank was registered as a digital custodian, while VTB appeared on both the crypto exchange operator and custodian lists.
- [4]
The crypto exchange operator list comprises VTB, Zefir, Sistema Crypto and T Invest Lab.
- [5]
Sberbank was included in the digital depository register alongside VTB Bank, Atomyze, Voltari and Cloud Infrastructure.
- [6]
The law signed by Vladimir Putin in August puts the market under the Bank of Russia's oversight and maintains Russia's ban on using crypto to pay for goods and services.
- [7]
Sberbank has set Dec. 1 as the target for launching crypto trading and custody, with its planned infrastructure covering trading, settlement and digital depository services; Bitcoin, Ether and USDT are expected to be among the first supported assets.
- [8]
Sberbank said it initially plans to support Bitcoin, Ether and USDt through its existing SberBank Online, SberInvestments and SberBusiness platforms.
- [9]
Sberbank is Russia's largest lender.
- [10]
Sberbank said on Monday that it had applied for digital custodian status.
- [11]
Crypto exchange operators can buy and sell digital currencies in their own name and using their own funds outside organized trading venues.
- [12]
Digital depositories can record digital currencies and digital rights, process transfers and provide customers with access to identifier addresses where their assets are held.
- [13]
Existing financial market participants can use a simplified admission process when applying to operate as a crypto exchange or digital depository.
- [14]
The two registers contain nine entries in total.
- [15]
The nine entries belong to eight distinct firms.
- [16]
Sberbank and VTB hold three of the nine register entries, one third, and are two of the eight firms.
- [17]
VTB Deputy CEO Vitaly Sergeichuk said the bank expects to provide a wide range of investors with access to digital currency trading through VTB My Investments as early as November, while its own crypto exchange is expected to follow in December.
- [18]
Draft operating rules published by the Bank of Russia in July set minimum equity for digital depositories between 50 million and 250 million rubles, depending on factors such as whether a company works with open distributed ledgers or provides post-trade settlement services.
- [19]
In August, Sberbank disclosed plans to accept BTC, ETH and USDT as collateral for loans once the required regulatory approvals are in place.
- [20]
If VTB opens retail trading through VTB My Investments in November, it would precede Sberbank's Dec. 1 launch.
- [21]
According to the Bank of Russia, firms must follow transaction and accounting rules from the date they enter the registers and have until Sept. 1, 2027, under transitional provisions, to meet the remaining requirements.
Sources
4 independent publishers whose own reporting we read for this story.
- cointelegraph.comRussia clears first crypto exchanges, custodians under new law
1 article · October 7, 2026
- crypto.newsRussia approves first crypto exchanges and custodians under new rules
1 article · October 7, 2026
- cryptopolitan.comBank of Russia greenlights country’s first crypto exchanges and depositories
1 article · October 7, 2026
- thepaypers.comBank of Russia names first authorised crypto operators and custodians
1 article · October 9, 2026
Topics and entities
Entities
- Sberbank
- Bank of Russia
- Vladimir Putin
- On Digital Currency and Digital Rights (Russian law)
- Vitaly Sergeichuk