Key Takeaways
- Russia registered its first five digital depositories and four crypto exchange operators under its new digital asset framework.
- Sberbank and VTB are among the registered firms, with VTB listed as both a digital depository and crypto exchange operator.
Russia has registered its first cryptocurrency exchange operators and digital depositories under the country’s new legal framework for digital currencies and digital rights.
The Bank of Russia added four cryptocurrency exchange operators and five digital depositories to its official registers on October 6, marking the first registrations under the new framework. The law governing digital currencies and digital rights came into force on September 1, 2026.
The five digital depositories are Russia’s largest lender, Sberbank, VTB Bank, Voltari, Cloud Infrastructure and Atomyze. The four registered cryptocurrency exchange operators are VTB Bank, Zefir, Sistema Crypto and T-Invest Lab. VTB is therefore listed in both registers.
Under the rules, digital depositories can provide services for recording and transferring digital currencies and digital rights. They can also give clients access to identifier addresses where those assets are recorded.
Cryptocurrency exchange operators, meanwhile, can buy and sell digital currencies in their own name and at their own expense outside organized trading venues.
Sberbank and VTB Prepare Crypto Services
The registrations come shortly after the Bank of Russia established the procedure for admitting digital depositories, cryptocurrency exchanges and other digital-asset infrastructure providers to the market. That procedure took effect on October 5.
Following that, Sberbank has said it plans to launch its first cryptocurrency products on December 1, subject to regulatory requirements and the readiness of the necessary rules. Its initial offering is expected to include Bitcoin, Ether and USDT.
Meanwhile, VTB is also preparing retail cryptocurrency services. The bank expects to offer digital-currency trading through VTB My Investments in November and through its own cryptocurrency exchange in December 2026, according to VTB Deputy CEO Vitaly Sergeichuk.
The registered firms must comply with transaction and accounting requirements from the date they enter the registers. They have until September 1, 2027, to bring their activities fully into line with the new digital-currency and digital-rights legislation.
The framework does not make cryptocurrency a general payment method for goods and services. Instead, it establishes regulated channels for cryptocurrency trading and the recording and transfer of digital assets through registered market participants.
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