Sberbank has won the Bank of Russia's approval to provide cryptocurrency exchange services. It plans to launch its first products on Dec. 1 through platforms its customers already use.
The Bank of Russia has added Sberbank to its register of cryptocurrency exchange operators, according to an Interfax report on Oct. 12 that cited the regulator's website. The report said the lender had already entered the digital depository register earlier this month.
Sberbank intends to introduce its first products on Dec. 1 and offer them through interfaces customers already use, the same report said.
Nine operators on the exchange register
Interfax put the exchange register at nine organizations, including VTB and T-Invest Lab. The digital depository register holds five organizations, including VTB and Atomyze.
Under the Bank of Russia's Oct. 6 statement, exchange operators can buy and sell digital currencies in their own name and with their own funds outside organized trading. Depositories, by contrast, record and transfer digital currencies and give customers access to the address identifiers where assets are recorded.
Registered organizations must follow transaction execution and recordkeeping rules from the date they enter the registers. Firms admitted under the law's transitional provisions have until Sept. 1, 2027 to bring their activities into compliance.
Bitcoin, Ether and USDT expected at launch
In its Oct. 7 coverage, crypto.news reported that SberBank Online, SberInvestments and SberBusiness would serve as the lender's customer channels, with Bitcoin, Ether and USDT expected among the initial supported assets.
Sberbank also wants to accept Bitcoin, Ethereum and Tether's USDT as collateral for loans, subject to regulatory permission, deputy chairman Anatoly Popov told TASS on Aug. 28.
Moscow Exchange targets the same date
Moscow Exchange senior managing director Boris Blokhin said on Oct. 8 that the venue planned to enable cryptocurrency transactions from Dec. 1, according to Interfax. He added that it would not need additional permits or licenses.
Non-qualified investors can buy up to 300,000 rubles of eligible cryptocurrencies annually through each intermediary, and the framework keeps the ban on crypto payments for ordinary goods and services.
Source: crypto.news
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