Sber plans a digital depository and crypto trading infrastructure by December 1, 2026

Sber says it will open infrastructure for cryptocurrency trading and launch a digital depository by December 1, 2026. For high-risk payment players, the key point is not the headline itself but the structure around it: licensed intermediaries, organized venues, and a formal custody layer are exactly the pieces that decide who can touch flow and who gets locked out.

1. First deputy chairman Alexander Vedyakhin told TASS that Sber plans to build the crypto trading infrastructure and launch the digital depository by December 1, 2026.
2. Vedyakhin said Sber already has experience with digital assets. Since 2025, the bank has offered investors structured bonds and digital financial assets (CFAs) linked to bitcoin, ether, and baskets of cryptocurrencies.
3. In the same year, Sber also ran a pilot for lending secured by cryptocurrency collateral. That matters because it shows the bank is not treating crypto as a one-off product experiment; it is assembling the plumbing around custody, collateral, and trading.
4. Vedyakhin said Sber took part in discussions with the Central Bank on future crypto-market regulation and welcomes the law’s adoption. He added that the bank is ready to share expertise and help draft the by-laws needed to build the infrastructure and technology base.
5. On July 21, the State Duma passed the law “On Digital Currencies and Digital Rights.” Under it, digital currencies will not be accepted as payment for goods and services inside the country, and all transactions will go through licensed intermediaries connected to organized venues such as exchanges and OTC desks. Storage and recordkeeping for crypto will be handled by digital depositories.