Sberbank wins approval to trade crypto, launch set for Dec. 1

Russia's largest bank, Sberbank, has secured regulatory approval to trade cryptocurrencies and plans to open crypto trading to all clients on December 1. The bank is already testing BTC, ETH and USDT trades in its app ahead of the rollout.

The approval comes under Russia's new digital-currency framework (Federal Law 282-FZ), which took effect September 1 and under which the Bank of Russia is now accepting license applications from exchanges and custodians. Sberbank becomes one of the first major Russian banks cleared to offer crypto trading to retail clients.