Russia Registers Its First Crypto Exchanges and Custodians as Sberbank Targets December 1 Launch

Published October 7, 2026, 09:55 UTC. Based on the Bank of Russia's published registers of authorized crypto operators (Oct. 6, 2026) and reporting by Cointelegraph.

Russia has licensed its first legal crypto market. The Bank of Russia on October 6 published the country's first official registers of authorized cryptocurrency exchange operators and digital custodians, five weeks after Russia's new crypto framework took effect on September 1, Cointelegraph reported.

The first four exchanges and five custodians

The central bank's lists name four authorized exchange operators and five custodians, according to the report. T-Invest Lab, Zefir, and Sistema-Crypto appear on the exchange operator list, while Sberbank, Russia's largest bank, joins Atomyze, Voltari, and Cloud Infrastructure as a registered custodian. VTB Bank appears on both lists.

The registrations are the first issued under a crypto law signed in August by President Vladimir Putin, which created a regulated framework covering exchanges, custodians, brokers, and investors. The law puts the market under the Bank of Russia's oversight and maintains Russia's long-standing ban on using crypto to pay for ordinary goods and services.

Sberbank's December 1 plan

Sberbank said on October 5 that it had applied for digital custodian status and plans to launch its first crypto products on December 1, according to Cointelegraph. The bank said it initially plans to support Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), and Tether's USDt (USDT) through its existing SberBank Online, SberInvestments, and SberBusiness platforms, putting crypto access inside the banking apps millions of Russians already use.

Sberbank dominates Russian retail banking, so its entry effectively gives the new licensed market its distribution channel from day one. Rival Alfa Bank has been testing crypto trading through its Alfa Investments brokerage app with a limited group of qualified investors, according to earlier crypto.news reporting, but Sberbank is the first major lender to commit to a firm launch date.

The August law that made it legal

Until this year, Russia's crypto sector operated in a legal gray zone. The August law changed that by defining who may run crypto businesses and what ordinary investors may do with digital assets. Draft operating rules published in July set registration and capital requirements for crypto exchanges and depositories, and crypto.news reported that the Bank of Russia has proposed Bitcoin, Ether, and USDT as assets that can qualify for organized trading based on market capitalization, liquidity, and foreign trading history.

Crypto remains barred as a payment method for goods and services inside Russia, while the new framework permits its use for certain cross-border settlements. The Bank of Russia underscored its caution on September 15 by identifying cryptocurrencies and stablecoins as a financial market risk, warning that digital assets could be used as substitutes for the ruble and that investors face the possibility of complete losses.

The 300,000-ruble retail cap

Retail access comes with strict limits. Non-qualified investors may purchase eligible cryptocurrencies worth up to 300,000 rubles per year through each intermediary, and only after passing a knowledge suitability test, crypto.news reported. Qualified investors can trade without the same annual ceiling, though testing requirements still apply.

Existing operators get a transition window: companies already providing crypto exchange services must complete registration by July 1, 2027. The Bank of Russia is also moving on a parallel track with its digital ruble; the central bank's digital currency accounts topped 220,000 in their first month of mass availability, nearly four times the central bank's forecast, according to Cointelegraph.

This article is news reporting and is not investment advice.

Sources

• Bank of Russia, registers of authorized crypto operators and custodians (Oct. 6, 2026), primary source
• Cointelegraph, Sberbank Joins Russia's First Registered Crypto Custodians (Oct. 7, 2026)
• Sberbank, statement on digital custodian application (Oct. 5, 2026), via Cointelegraph
• crypto.news, Bank of Russia sets 1% crypto risk limit under draft rules (September 2026)