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Russia’s largest bank announced its intention to provide loans backed by cryptocurrency following a pilot agreement with a mining company, with legislation anticipated by mid-2026.
Sberbank has revealed its plans for cryptocurrency lending services just a day after competitor Sovcombank introduced bitcoin-backed loans. (Photo: Oruwachichin via Wikimedia Commons/Modified by CoinDesk)
What to know:
- Sberbank, the largest bank in Russia, is set to provide loans secured by cryptocurrency and has expressed its willingness to collaborate with the central bank on establishing a regulatory framework.
- The bank tested this model in January by granting Russia’s inaugural bitcoin-backed loan to major miner IntelionData, and it already provides clients with structured bonds and digital assets linked to bitcoin and ether.
- The planned initiative from Sberbank will broaden crypto-backed lending beyond miners to include businesses that possess digital assets, as Russia reopens its crypto market under new regulations and prepares comprehensive legislation by July 1, 2026.
Russia’s leading bank, Sberbank, is advancing towards offering loans backed by cryptocurrency and stated on Friday that it is ready to engage with the central bank to develop the required regulatory structure, as reported by Reuters.
The lender has already conducted a trial of this model in January, issuing the country’s first bitcoin-backed loan to one of its largest bitcoin miners, IntelionData, describing the transaction as a pilot and indicating an interest in issuing more in the future.
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The total volume of digital financial asset issuances on the platform reached 408 billion rubles (approximately $5.3 billion) in 2025 — a growth of 5.6 times compared to 2024 (73 billion rubles, or $948 million) and 204 times more than 2023 (2 billion rubles or $26 million).
Sberbank’s regulated digital financial asset (DFA) operations surged in 2025, with total issuances hitting RUB 408 billion ($4.9 billion), more than 5.6 times the previous year’s volume, while the bank’s own DFA holdings increased sevenfold in six months to RUB 185 billion ($2.2 billion).
This expansion occurs alongside a still-predominant traditional balance sheet: by December, Sber’s corporate loan portfolio was valued at RUB 30.4 trillion ($365 billion), its retail loan book at RUB 18.8 trillion ($226 billion), and client deposits at RUB 33.1 trillion ($398 billion), underscoring the relatively small yet rapidly growing presence of tokenized assets within Russia’s largest financial institution.
When announcing the trial loan, Anatoly Popov, Sberbank’s deputy chairman, mentioned that the bank already provides clients with structured bonds and digital financial assets involving investments in bitcoin and ether. Popov also indicated that the bank is currently exploring decentralized finance (DeFi) instruments and endorses the gradual legalization of cryptocurrencies within the Russian legal framework.
Another significant lender, Sovcombank, became the first Russian bank to introduce crypto-backed lending on February 5 for individuals and businesses legally holding bitcoin.
In December 2025, it reopened the cryptocurrency market to the public under new regulations established by the nation’s central bank. Officials anticipate finalizing legislation governing crypto assets by July 1, 2026.
Sberbank stated that the forthcoming lending program would focus not only on mining firms but also on businesses that maintain cryptocurrency on their balance sheets.
