NEW YORK, December 30, 2025, 03:10 ET
- Sberbank said it issued Russia’s first crypto-backed loan to bitcoin miner Intelion Data, without disclosing the loan size.
- Russia’s central bank is pushing a framework to let retail investors trade only the most liquid cryptocurrencies after testing and within strict limits.
- Regulators are also rolling out the digital ruble in stages, with broader requirements stretching to 2028.
Sberbank, Russia’s largest bank, said it has issued the country’s first crypto-backed loan to Intelion Data, one of Russia’s biggest bitcoin miners, using digital currency mined by the firm as collateral. Sberbank did not disclose the loan size or the amount of cryptocurrency pledged, and said it will hold the collateral in its own wallets until the loan is repaid. “The regulation of the digital currency market is still in its infancy in Russia,” said Anatoly Popov, Sberbank’s deputy chair. 1
The pilot deal is a concrete step by a systemically important Russian lender into crypto-secured financing, a niche that regulators have long treated as risky. It also comes as Moscow tries to move crypto activity into channels it can supervise, rather than leaving it largely offshore and opaque.
In a Dec. 23 statement, the Bank of Russia said it had sent the government a concept for crypto regulation, while warning that cryptoassets are highly volatile, have no identifiable issuer and carry “sanction risks.” Under the plan, non-qualified investors — ordinary retail clients — could buy only the most liquid cryptocurrencies after passing a test and within a 300,000-ruble annual limit via one intermediary; qualified investors would have broader access except “anonymous” tokens, also after testing. The central bank said digital currencies and stablecoins — tokens designed to track the value of a currency — could be bought and sold but not used for payments inside Russia, and that the legal framework should be drafted before July 1, 2026, with liability for illicit intermediary activity from July 1, 2027. 2
ArabicTrader reported on Dec. 29 that Russia plans new restrictions on cryptocurrency trading for individual investors and tighter oversight of brokers, alongside a staged rollout of the digital ruble through 2028. The report said retail access would be conditioned on a risk-awareness test and focused on highly liquid tokens, while crypto and stablecoins would remain barred for domestic payments. 3
A crypto-backed loan is a cash loan secured by digital tokens rather than traditional collateral such as property or cash deposits. The lender typically keeps control of the pledged crypto during the loan period.
Sberbank’s move also adds pressure on rivals to match new digital-asset products under Russia’s evolving rulebook. Earlier this month, VTB said it wanted to let clients trade “real” cryptocurrencies via brokerage accounts — a step beyond the crypto derivatives Russian banks are currently permitted to offer. 4
Russia’s push to modernize payments is running in parallel. In July 2025, the Bank of Russia said major banks must be the first to offer digital-ruble accounts and payments from Sept. 1, 2026, with the requirement extending to all banks in stages through September 2028. It also said large retailers that are clients of major banks and whose prior-year revenue exceeds 120 million rubles would have to accept digital-ruble payments starting Sept. 1, 2026. 5
The digital ruble is a central bank digital currency — a digital form of the national currency issued by the central bank — designed to circulate alongside cash and regular bank-account rubles.
Together, the banking pilot and the central bank’s plan underline a narrow path: officials are willing to permit buying and selling of crypto under controls, while keeping a hard line on using it for everyday payments inside Russia.
For miners and corporates that hold crypto, a loan secured by coins offers a way to borrow without selling the assets outright. For banks, it opens a new product line — provided custody, risk controls and legal standards catch up.
Sberbank has called the transaction a pilot and has not said what cryptocurrency was pledged or how long the loan runs, leaving key risk details unclear.
