Russia’s largest bank, Sberbank, is moving towards offering loans secured in cryptocurrency and said on Friday that it is prepared to coordinate with the country’s central bank on the design of the necessary regulatory framework, according to Reuters.
The lender has already tested the model in January. The bank issued the country’s first bitcoin-backed loan to one of its biggest bitcoin miners, IntelionData, calling the transaction a pilot and hinting it was eager to issue more in the future.
The amount of issuance of digital financial assets on the platform reached 408 billion rubles (about 5.3 billion USD) in 2025 – an increase of 5.6 times compared to 2024 (73 billion rubles or 948 million USD) and 204 times greater than 2023 (2 billion rubles or 26 million USD).
Sberbank’s regulated digital financial assets (DFA) business expanded rapidly in 2025, with total issuance reaching RUB 408 billion ($4.9 billion), more than 5.6 times the 2024 level, while the bank’s own DFA holdings grew sevenfold in six months to RUB 185 billion ($2.2 billion).
The growth comes alongside a still-dominant traditional balance sheet: In December, Sber’s corporate loan portfolio stood 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), highlighting the relatively small but fast lending role in Russia.
Announcing the trial loan, Anatoly Popov, Sberbank’s deputy chairman, said the bank already offers clients structured bonds and digital financial assets with investments in bitcoin and ether. Popov also said that the bank is currently testing decentralized financial instruments (DeFi) and supports the gradual legalization of cryptocurrencies within the Russian legal framework.
Another major lender, Sovcombank, became the first Russian bank to roll out crypto-backed loans on February 5 to individuals and businesses that legally hold bitcoin.
In December 2025, it reopened the cryptocurrency market to the public with new rules set by the country’s central bank. Officials expect to finalize crypto asset legislation by July 1, 2026.
Sberbank said the planned lending program would target not only mining companies, but also companies that have cryptocurrency on their balance sheets.
