【Important Follow-up】Sberbank’s Crypto Exchange Approval and App Testing: Official Register and Asset List Still Pending Before Launch
【Fact Check｜Updated October 13, 2026】On October 6, in the Bank of Russia’s first register of digital currency exchange entities, Sberbank was granted authorization to custody digital assets. At the time, the official downloadable exchange register listed four entities, and Sberbank was not among them. On October 13, CoinDesk, citing Interfax, reported that the central bank had added Sberbank to its register of cryptocurrency exchange entities. Cointelegraph also reported this registration update. CoinDesk said Sberbank plans to open trading to customers on December 1 and has been testing the buying, selling, depositing, and withdrawing of BTC, ETH, and USDT in its app. The testing details come from Cointelegraph’s account of a Vedomosti report citing the bank’s press office. The final launch date and supported trading assets remain subject to subsequent regulatory requirements.
One verification caveat should be noted: as of this round of checks, the exchange-entity Excel file publicly downloadable from the Bank of Russia was still marked “as of October 6, 2026” and did not yet show the additional entry reported by the media. CoinDesk and Cointelegraph also reported different totals for the number of registered entities. Therefore, this article describes the “new exchange authorization” as a development reported by the two media outlets, does not cite a total number of entities, and continues to await confirmation in an updated official central bank register.
【Personal Analysis｜What Is Actually New This Time】Previously, Sberbank was included in the custody register. If the central bank’s official register ultimately confirms this new exchange registration, it would mark a shift from “recording and safeguarding digital assets for customers” to “offering buying and selling services through the existing channels of a major bank.” The initial market impact could be easier access to crypto assets for Russian customers. The media reports identify $BTC , $ETH , and the stablecoin $USDT as assets being tested. This does not mean the product is officially available, that the central bank endorses these assets, or that new funds have already flowed in. The use of cryptocurrency to pay for goods and services within Russia remains restricted; registration for exchange services should not be interpreted as a broad opening of crypto payments.
Spot market data for context: Binance Spot public market data was checked at 16:04 UTC on 2026-10-13. For rolling 24-hour USDT spot quote volume (trading value denominated in the quote asset), BTCUSDT was approximately 1.271 billion USDT and ETHUSDT approximately 759 million USDT. These figures represent global Binance spot trading volume, not local Russian trading, net inflows, or buying driven by this news. USDT is a stablecoin and is excluded from altcoin volume screening; it is mentioned here only because the reports explicitly said it was being tested.
【What to Do】Russian users can wait for the central bank’s official register to be updated and for an announcement from Sberbank, then check the eligible regions, customer requirements, final list of supported coins, fees, custody arrangements, and whether withdrawals to self-custody wallets are permitted. Before the official service launches, do not provide account details or transfer funds to anyone claiming to be “pre-registration customer support.” When monitoring the market, distinguish between regulatory registration, bank app testing, official customer access, and actual trading; do not treat the first two as proof that demand has already materialized.
【What to Watch Next and What Would Invalidate This View】Watch for whether Sberbank is added to the central bank’s exchange register, whether the bank opens the service as planned, the list of assets approved for trading, and the networks and withdrawal restrictions for deposits and withdrawals. If the central bank’s public register remains unchanged for an extended period, the product is delayed, or access is ultimately limited to a small group of customers, the assessment that this creates a new retail access channel should be downgraded. Only if the service officially launches under public rules that allow broad customer access, and sustained trading can be observed, will there be grounds to assess its actual impact on access to the Russian market.
Sources: CoinDesk (2026-10-13, citing Interfax and reporting on the app testing plans) https://www.coindesk.com/business/2026/10/13/russia-s-largest-bank-sberbank-secures-approval-to-trade-crypto; Cointelegraph (2026-10-13, reporting on the central bank register update and Vedomosti’s account of the bank’s testing) https://cointelegraph.com/news/sberbank-russia-crypto-trading-approval; Bank of Russia announcement on the first register, dated 2026-10-06 https://www.cbr.ru/press/event/?id=32894; Bank of Russia downloadable register of exchange entities (the snapshot in the file was marked as of 2026-10-06 23:59 at the time of this check) https://www.cbr.ru/vfs/registries/admissionfinmarket/list_ooocv.xlsx; Bank of Russia explanation of the rules for digital currencies https://www.cbr.ru/press/event/?id=32719
【Fact Check｜Updated October 13, 2026】On October 6, in the Bank of Russia’s first register of digital currency exchange entities, Sberbank was granted authorization to custody digital assets. At the time, the official downloadable exchange register listed four entities, and Sberbank was not among them. On October 13, CoinDesk, citing Interfax, reported that the central bank had added Sberbank to its register of cryptocurrency exchange entities. Cointelegraph also reported this registration update. CoinDesk said Sberbank plans to open trading to customers on December 1 and has been testing the buying, selling, depositing, and withdrawing of BTC, ETH, and USDT in its app. The testing details come from Cointelegraph’s account of a Vedomosti report citing the bank’s press office. The final launch date and supported trading assets remain subject to subsequent regulatory requirements.
One verification caveat should be noted: as of this round of checks, the exchange-entity Excel file publicly downloadable from the Bank of Russia was still marked “as of October 6, 2026” and did not yet show the additional entry reported by the media. CoinDesk and Cointelegraph also reported different totals for the number of registered entities. Therefore, this article describes the “new exchange authorization” as a development reported by the two media outlets, does not cite a total number of entities, and continues to await confirmation in an updated official central bank register.
【Personal Analysis｜What Is Actually New This Time】Previously, Sberbank was included in the custody register. If the central bank’s official register ultimately confirms this new exchange registration, it would mark a shift from “recording and safeguarding digital assets for customers” to “offering buying and selling services through the existing channels of a major bank.” The initial market impact could be easier access to crypto assets for Russian customers. The media reports identify $BTC , $ETH , and the stablecoin $USDT as assets being tested. This does not mean the product is officially available, that the central bank endorses these assets, or that new funds have already flowed in. The use of cryptocurrency to pay for goods and services within Russia remains restricted; registration for exchange services should not be interpreted as a broad opening of crypto payments.
Spot market data for context: Binance Spot public market data was checked at 16:04 UTC on 2026-10-13. For rolling 24-hour USDT spot quote volume (trading value denominated in the quote asset), BTCUSDT was approximately 1.271 billion USDT and ETHUSDT approximately 759 million USDT. These figures represent global Binance spot trading volume, not local Russian trading, net inflows, or buying driven by this news. USDT is a stablecoin and is excluded from altcoin volume screening; it is mentioned here only because the reports explicitly said it was being tested.
【What to Do】Russian users can wait for the central bank’s official register to be updated and for an announcement from Sberbank, then check the eligible regions, customer requirements, final list of supported coins, fees, custody arrangements, and whether withdrawals to self-custody wallets are permitted. Before the official service launches, do not provide account details or transfer funds to anyone claiming to be “pre-registration customer support.” When monitoring the market, distinguish between regulatory registration, bank app testing, official customer access, and actual trading; do not treat the first two as proof that demand has already materialized.
【What to Watch Next and What Would Invalidate This View】Watch for whether Sberbank is added to the central bank’s exchange register, whether the bank opens the service as planned, the list of assets approved for trading, and the networks and withdrawal restrictions for deposits and withdrawals. If the central bank’s public register remains unchanged for an extended period, the product is delayed, or access is ultimately limited to a small group of customers, the assessment that this creates a new retail access channel should be downgraded. Only if the service officially launches under public rules that allow broad customer access, and sustained trading can be observed, will there be grounds to assess its actual impact on access to the Russian market.
Sources: CoinDesk (2026-10-13, citing Interfax and reporting on the app testing plans) https://www.coindesk.com/business/2026/10/13/russia-s-largest-bank-sberbank-secures-approval-to-trade-crypto; Cointelegraph (2026-10-13, reporting on the central bank register update and Vedomosti’s account of the bank’s testing) https://cointelegraph.com/news/sberbank-russia-crypto-trading-approval; Bank of Russia announcement on the first register, dated 2026-10-06 https://www.cbr.ru/press/event/?id=32894; Bank of Russia downloadable register of exchange entities (the snapshot in the file was marked as of 2026-10-06 23:59 at the time of this check) https://www.cbr.ru/vfs/registries/admissionfinmarket/list_ooocv.xlsx; Bank of Russia explanation of the rules for digital currencies https://www.cbr.ru/press/event/?id=32719