Russia’s state-controlled Sberbank to provide liquidity for regulated crypto markets: report

Russia’s biggest bank is reportedly getting ready to support crypto trading for elite investors under a new regulatory experiment.

Russia‘s state-controlled lender Sberbank is getting ready to play a bigger role in the country’s crypto scene by acting as a market maker and providing liquidity on the new regulated crypto platforms that are expected to launch soon.

Alexander Zozulya, head of global markets at Sberbank, told local media that the lender will be present as a liquidity provider and market maker on Russian regulated platforms, where super-qualified investors will be allowed to conduct operations directly with cryptocurrencies.

The move comes as Russia’s central bank pushes ahead with its experimental legal regime for crypto trading. The Bank of Russia wants crypto operations to happen within a legal “sandbox” and only for a limited group of wealthy investors.

Elvira Nabiullina, head of the central bank, said earlier at a conference that “investments directly in cryptocurrencies” will require new regulations and dedicated infrastructure. Under the plan, investors will qualify if they have over 100 million rubles (around $1.25 million) in securities and deposits or earned more than 50 million rubles (around $625,000) in the past year.

Sberbank also plans to offer crypto-linked investment products that don’t involve direct ownership. Per Zozulya, these could be structured products, digital financial assets, or mutual funds that provide exposure to cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) or Ethereum (ETH), but without direct ownership.

Following this approach, the bank expects a “new world” of investing to open up once the legal framework is updated. Zozulya added that the infrastructure “is already ready,” and it’s just a matter of adding new instruments to the market.