VTB Bank, Russia’s second-largest lender by assets, plans to start offering spot crypto trading to qualified investors next year, becoming the first institution in the country to offer clients direct, deliverable trading in major cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin and ether according to the Russian media RBU.
The facility will be offered to investors with portfolios over $1.3 million or annual income over $650,000, said Andrey Yatskov, head of brokerage services at VTB, in an interview with RBU.
“Preparations are already underway for the testing of ‘super-qualified’ investors, but it is clear that this status will not be widespread.” he said.
Russia, like Iran and Venezuela, has increasingly turned to crypto to circumvent Western sanctions on its $192 billion a year oil trade with China and India in 2023 and 2024. Oil and gas make up 30% of Russia’s federal market. Once staunchly opposed to digital assets, Russia turns to crypto to circumvent Western sanctions on oil trade: Reuterss, which included a nationwide ban on crypto, the country began cozying up to virtual currencies as the US and EU began levying new rounds of escalating sanctions against the country in 2022.
Still, Yatskov dismissed speculation that appetite for crypto would grow among the wider population.
“No, we don’t expect that,” he replied.
According to an October report by the Tass news service, Deputy Finance Minister Ivan Chebeskov said that around 20 million Russians use crypto “for various purposes”, describing them as a reality that the government must deal with rather than resist. The country has a population of around 146 million.
In response to the growing use of crypto, Vladimir Chistyukhin, first deputy director of the Bank of Russia, said in October that the regulator decided to allow banks to operate in the crypto sector for the first time.
VTB, which has a market capitalization of nearly $250 billion and total assets of over $410 billion, said its clients’ interest in crypto assets is high, reflecting a global trend.
“Therefore, based on this position, we will also participate in the process,” Yatskov said.
The bank joins a small cadre of lenders worldwide that offer crypto trading to customers. Standard Chartered became the first global bank to offer spot bitcoin and ether trading to institutional clients in July. Spanish rivals BBVA and Santander also started providing spot crypto trading this year. Liechtenstein-based Bank Frick started offering customers access to multiple cryptocurrencies as far back as 2018. And DBS Bank of Singapore reportedly offers the service as well.
