Nikolas Sargeant
TL;DR
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Sberbank plans to expand its crypto-backed lending program beyond Bitcoin to include Ether and USDT.
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The expansion will proceed after Russian regulators authorize the assets for public trading.
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The Bank of Russia included BTC, ETH, and USDT in a draft list of cryptocurrencies eligible for trading on domestic exchanges.
Sberbank, Russia’s largest bank, plans to expand its crypto-backed lending service by accepting Ether and Tether’s USDT stablecoin as collateral.
The assets would join Bitcoin in Sberbank’s lending program once Russian regulators permit them to circulate publicly through the country’s regulated crypto market.
Deputy Chairman Anatoly Popov told TASS that Sberbank would first modify its existing products to comply with Russia’s new cryptocurrency regulations. The bank would then gradually increase the number of digital assets it accepts.
Russia Considers BTC, ETH and USDT for Public Trading
The Bank of Russia included Bitcoin, Ether and USDT in a draft list of cryptocurrencies that could be traded publicly on Russian exchanges.
Published in August, the list selected eligible assets based on three principal factors:
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Market capitalization
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Average daily trading volume
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At least five years of price history on foreign exchanges
The framework could provide Sberbank with a regulatory foundation for expanding its crypto-backed credit products beyond Bitcoin.
Sberbank has already tested its digital-asset lending model. In December 2025, the bank issued what it described as Russia’s first Bitcoin-backed loan to cryptocurrency miner Intelion Data.
Sberbank held the borrower’s Bitcoin through its in-house custody platform, although neither party disclosed the value of the loan.
The bank said in February that it intended to extend the product beyond mining companies and make it available to other businesses holding cryptocurrency.
Adding ETH and USDT would broaden the range of assets companies could use to secure financing without selling their crypto holdings.
USDT Collateral Introduces Sanctions Risk
Accepting USDT could create complications that do not apply to decentralized assets such as Bitcoin and Ether.
Sberbank has been subject to full U.S. blocking sanctions since April 2022. The European Union also imposed an asset freeze against the bank in July of that year.
Unlike Bitcoin and Ether, USDT is issued and administered by a centralized company. Tether can freeze tokens associated with sanctioned entities, suspicious transactions or law-enforcement investigations.
Tether says it has frozen hundreds of millions of dollars in USDT in coordination with the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control and other law-enforcement agencies.
The Bank of Russia warned in June that stablecoin issuers can unilaterally freeze or seize assets held by lawful owners without receiving a court order. That control could affect the reliability of USDT as collateral for a sanctioned financial institution.
Russia’s new cryptocurrency law takes effect on September 1, creating a regulated framework for trading digital assets through approved intermediaries.
The legislation applies equivalent requirements to foreign-issued stablecoins such as USDT.
Cryptocurrency payments for goods and services inside Russia will remain prohibited. However, eligible assets can be traded and used in approved financial products through regulated institutions.
Companies participating in the market will have until July 2027 to obtain the necessary licenses.
Sberbank’s planned expansion illustrates how Russian financial institutions are incorporating digital assets into conventional credit products while operating within a tightening regulatory and sanctions environment.
