Russian 'systemically important' private bank Sovcombank joins race to offer crypto-backed loans

Another leading Russian banking institution is joining the financial giant Sberbank in lending against cryptocurrency as collateral.

Sovcombank announced a program to offer loans secured by Bitcoin amid growing demand from businesses in the industry ahead of regulation.

Private Russian bank enters the promising market for crypto-backed credit

A privately owned universal bank, which is on a list of about a dozen “systemically important Russian banks” dominated by state-controlled institutions, is entering the crypto space.

Sovcombank, ranked in the middle of that group, unveiled to the Russian press it’s launching corporate lending secured by Bitcoin (BTC), the cryptocurrency with the largest market capitalization.

The loans will be available to any legal entity that meets its criteria, the bank told the business daily Kommersant. For example, organizations must have been registered and operated in Russia for at least a year prior to applying.

Then, they need to be in possession of the digital currency used as collateral and must have filed their financial statements for the past year with the Federal Tax Service (FNS), with no overdue taxes, duties, or other financial obligations.

Interest rates for these loans will be calculated by taking the Central Bank of Russia’s key rate and adding seven percentage points, which currently amounts to 23%. The bank is offering a 50% collateral discount and up to two years for repayment.

Against the backdrop of the falling price of BTC, a product like that can be very attractive, Sovcombank’s Director of Compliance Marina Burdonova told the newspaper, elaborating:

“Many Bitcoin holders prefer to wait for a more favorable period to sell. And Bitcoin collateral allows them to raise funds for business development without being forced to sell the asset.”

Since its latest all-time high of over $125,000 in October 2025, the exchange rate of the leading crypto almost halved by February 2026, the publication noted in an article on Thursday. At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading for around $71,000 per coin.

Russian banks report growing demand for loans secured by cryptocurrency

Sovcombank is not the first Russian financial institution ready to lend fiat against digital currency. In late December, the majority state-owned Sber, Russia’s largest bank by assets, entered this market niche, as reported by Cryptopolitan.

The country’s first such loan was issued to Intelion Data JSC, a leader in the Russian crypto mining sector, using coins minted by the company as collateral.

At the time, the Russian banking giant explained that the experiment is aimed at testing and developing the necessary infrastructure before the product line is expanded.

It also highlighted that an in-house storage solution called Rutoken was used to ensure the cryptocurrency is safely deposited during the loan period.

Sberbank said it’s confident that crypto-secured lending “may become widespread after the development of regulations and the implementation of the necessary tools,” Kommersant recalled.

Under current Russian law, cryptocurrency is classified as “other property,” which allows its use as legitimate collateral to cover contractual obligations.

The status quo is about to change as Russian authorities are now preparing to recognize cryptocurrencies and stablecoins also as “monetary assets” by July 1.

The comprehensive legal framework, which will introduce rules for various crypto-related transactions and activities, including investment and trading, will be based on a new regulatory concept published by the Bank of Russia towards the end of last year.

Lack of proper rules makes Russian institutions cautious about crypto lending

The absence of clear regulations at the moment is what makes banks cautious about lending against cryptocurrency, the daily remarked.

The remaining top Russian banks are yet to announce such products, and this is likely to eventually happen to meet demand, especially from mining enterprises.

Ivan Melikhov, director of Russia’s Industrial Mining Association, commented that miners are highly interested in crypto-secured loans as these would help them acquire operating funds without losing their digital coins.

There are hidden pitfalls, however, due to the extreme volatility of the underlying asset, as pointed out by Dmitry Zuev, founder and chief executive of NGE FARM, a Russian operator of mining infrastructure.

Ignat Likhunov, founder and head of the Cartesius law firm, which specializes in providing legal advice in the crypto space, explained:

“If, as a result of a collapse in prices, the value of the collateral falls below the loan amount, the bank will be forced to demand additional collateral from the client.”

The discount rate, when calculating the digital collateral, will fluctuate between 40 and 60%, expects Mikhail Smirnov, director of communications at EXMO.me, a major cryptocurrency exchange in the Russian-speaking segment of the market.

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