Russia’s biggest bank wants to let its customers hold crypto the same way they hold rubles. Sberbank, which serves over 110 million clients, is planning to launch a crypto wallet and digital depository service by December 1, 2026, pending the passage of new digital asset legislation currently working its way through the State Duma.

The service would be baked directly into Sberbank Online and SberInvestments, the bank’s existing consumer-facing platforms.

The numbers behind the bet

The bank’s digital financial asset platform already processed RUB 408 billion, roughly $4.9 billion, in transactions during 2025. That figure represents a 5.6x increase from the prior year.

Sberbank’s own DFA holdings tell a similar story. The bank reported a sevenfold surge in its digital asset positions, reaching RUB 185 billion within just six months in 2025.

In late 2025, Sberbank issued a pilot crypto-backed loan to Intelion Data, and the institution has run experiments with tokenized products.

Legislation is the linchpin

Russia’s crypto regulation bill passed its first reading in April 2026, with legislators targeting a complete framework by July 1, 2026. The bill would categorize digital assets as property and establish a licensed intermediary framework for their custody and exchange. Provisions from the legislation are expected to take effect on September 1, 2026, giving Sberbank a roughly three-month runway to finalize its systems before the December target date.

Sberbank has been explicit that its launch is contingent on the legal developments. Sberbank is majority-owned by the Russian government.

International sanctions have squeezed Russia’s access to traditional financial rails, and crypto has emerged as an alternative channel for certain cross-border transactions.