Bank of Russia greenlights country’s first crypto exchanges and depositories

Bank of Russia has authorized several entities to join the country’s recently regulated cryptocurrency market, making them the first legal providers of digital-asset services.

Two major state-owned banks are among the approved participants, a clear indication that Moscow intends to keep the expanding industry under strict government control.

Central bank clears Russia’s first crypto trading and custodial platforms

The monetary authority in Moscow has effectively permitted nine organizations to begin operations with cryptocurrencies under the Russian Federation’s new rules.

Four have been recognized as platforms facilitating the exchange of digital currencies, and five will serve as so-called “digital depositories,” which will provide custodial services.

The platforms have been added to their respective registries, the Central Bank of Russia (CBR) announced, making it clear these are the first entries in the two official lists.

In a press release on Tuesday, the financial regulator also highlighted:

“These participants gained market access under the transitional provisions of the Law on Digital Currencies and Digital Rights, which entered into force on September 1, 2026.”

After much anticipation and some delay, the legislation was passed by both houses of Russian parliament in July of this year and signed by President Vladimir Putin in early August.

Coming into full effect at the start of the following month, it legalized cryptocurrencies and key transactions with them like investment, storage and trading, as reported by Cryptopolitan.

From the date of their registration, the crypto platforms are obliged to follow Russia’s rules for processing and recording transactions involving digital assets and rights, the CBR stressed.

They are also required to bring all their operations into full compliance with the comprehensive regulatory framework by September 1, 2027, at the latest, the central bank further emphasized.

Russia’s biggest bank Sber to run a crypto depository service

While crypto-only firms, such as existing coin trading platforms, are free to apply for authorization from the Bank of Russia, the procedure has been significantly simplified for traditional financial market players such as banking institutions and stock exchanges.

Thus, digital depository licenses have now been granted to Sberbank, Russia’s biggest lender by assets and market share, as well as VTB, the second-largest bank in the Russian Federation.

The other approved custodians are the tokenization platform Atomyze, the blockchain developer Voltari, and a company called “Cloud Infrastructure.”

VTB has been added to the list of “organizations facilitating the exchange of digital currencies,” too, alongside three other firms that will be allowed to trade crypto.

These are the T-Invest Lab subsidiary of T-Bank, a major commercial and digital bank headquartered in Moscow, formerly Tinkoff Bank, as well as the companies Zefir and Sistema-crypto.

The first applications for registration were submitted October 5, when the CBR started accepting them, the Russian crypto news outlet Bits.Media and the Interfax news agency noted in their reports.

Crypto transfers to be made only through licensed providers

Under the “digital currency” law, all crypto transactions, including transfers to wallets hosted abroad, must be carried out through Russia-licensed intermediaries – banks, brokers, exchanges, and others.

“Digital depositories” were introduced as a new category of platforms that will be responsible for safekeeping and transferring coins and other assets, as well as providing access to their addresses.

Crypto exchanges are allowed to buy and sell digital currencies “in their own name and at their own expense outside of organized trading venues,” the Bank of Russia clarified, adding in a statement:

“The emergence of the first registry participants marks a significant step toward establishing a regulated infrastructure for the Russian digital currency market.”

Over the past couple of years, the previously conservative regulator significantly softened its stance on crypto legalization, in the light of fiat restrictions imposed in response to Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

Both majority-state-owned banks receiving cryptocurrency licenses now, Sber and VTB, as well as others involved in the digital-asset space like Atomyze, have already been targeted in Western sanctions.

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