According to reports, the Bank of Russia has approved Sberbank to offer cryptocurrency trading services. The bank plans to launch the service for users starting December 1, with the final list of supported tokens to be determined by the central bank. Opening up bank channels is somewhat positive for access to compliant trading, but approval does not necessarily mean new buying demand has already emerged. The next things to watch are whether the service launches on schedule and how much actual trading demand there is. Cryptocurrency payments remain prohibited in Russia, so permission to trade should not be interpreted as permission to pay with crypto.