Russia's Largest Bank Opens Door to Bitcoin, Ethereum and USDT-Backed Loans

Russia’s largest state-owned lender, Sberbank, is preparing to expand its corporate lending services by offering loans secured by digital assets, with Bitcoin playing a central role alongside planned expansions to Ethereum and Tether (USDT). Anatoly Popov, deputy chairman of Sberbank's management board, confirmed that the institution is actively adapting its banking products following initial pilot testing, which included securing loans against cryptocurrency mined by AO Intelion Data. The initiative aligns with Russia's evolving regulatory landscape, specifically Federal Law No. 282-FZ, which takes effect on September 1, 2026. This law enforces reporting requirements on residents' offshore digital asset holdings and turnover while granting the central bank supervisory authority over eligible collateral assets. The Bank of Russia has simultaneously ramped up compliance, flagging roughly 2,600 suspicious wallets in the first half of 2026. This crypto-backed financing model provides corporate borrowers with conventional liquidity without requiring them to liquidate their digital asset holdings. The initiative reflects a broader push to integrate controlled institutional crypto infrastructure into domestic banking channels amid constrained international payment routes.