Sberbank is increasing its activity in the field of digital finance. Investment products linked to cryptoassets are already available to clients, work continues on its own blockchain platform, and a dialogue is being held with the regulator regarding the legalization of the crypto market.
The bank's focus is on expanding its range of Digital Financial Assets (DFAs), participating in the development of a regulatory framework for decentralized finance, and integrating with public blockchains.
On December 11, the international conference "FI Day. AI & Blockchain," dedicated to the development of the financial industry and the tasks of its digital transformation, is taking place at Sber's headquarters.
The bank's current projects and vision for the future of the market were discussed in an interview with "RBC-Crypto" by Anatoly Popov, Deputy Chairman of the Board of Sberbank.
— How do you assess the statements about the future regulation of cryptocurrencies? How does the bank plan to adapt or participate in the infrastructure?
— We are in constant dialogue with the Bank of Russia and Rosfinmonitoring on a wide range of issues: how to build the necessary infrastructure, what technologies to apply, how to ensure security and protect the rights of investors. Our common goal is for new services to develop, but for clients to be reliably protected and the financial system to remain stable.
We believe that new rules for particularly qualified investors should allow working with digital assets using banking infrastructure — this is familiar and convenient for clients. At the same time, it is important to use Russian custodial services and regulated platforms.
Sber is already testing various instruments from the world of decentralized finance (DeFi). We are confident that in the future, traditional banking and DeFi will work in convergence. Even now, within the current regulation, we offer clients various options for investments — for example, structured bonds and digital financial assets (DFAs), which can be used to invest in specific cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH), or in baskets of various cryptocurrencies.
Sber has issued DFAs on a basket of Bitcoin and Ether indices, as well as DFAs on an index portfolio of infrastructure cryptocurrencies, which includes ETH, SOL, TRX, AVAX, and BNB. In addition, we have placed several issues of structured bonds in exchange-traded and over-the-counter formats — both with and without principal protection, where the yield is linked to the performance of the IBIT exchange index for Bitcoin and the ETHA index for Ether.
— Your colleagues previously stated that the bank is ready to be a liquidity provider and market maker on Russian regulated platforms that will directly work with cryptocurrency. Is this still relevant? Tell us how the bank sees itself within the regulated environment for cryptocurrency.
— Cryptocurrencies are popular among Russians. Based on various public estimates, our country is third in the world in Bitcoin mining. According to the Central Bank's estimate, by March 2025, the volume of cryptocurrencies in the wallets of Russians will reach 827 billion rubles. In this regard, Sber plans to actively work in this market, but only after clear rules appear and when it becomes economically feasible. Our main task is to ensure the liquidity of client services, hedge, and pilot new business models within the regulated perimeter.
At the same time, we do not consider these assets as an object for speculative investment by Sber itself. Whether the bank will be able to conduct operations with digital currencies will depend entirely on future regulations: on risk management, capital, and reporting requirements. As a systemically important bank, we will act conservatively on this issue, putting the interests of clients and the stability of the financial system first.
— Tell us about the existing investment products linked to cryptoassets? How have they performed since their launch? Which one do you consider the most successful?
— As I already said, Sber has issued several options for private investors to invest — both in the form of structured bonds and in the format of DFAs. These instruments allow investing in Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) either separately or in "ready-made sets" of different cryptocurrencies. The total volume of such issues has reached 1.5 billion rubles. This is a significant result for a new direction, which confirms that investors are consistently interested in convenient solutions for accessing cryptocurrencies.
It is impossible to say definitively which instrument is better yet. They may suit different types of investors depending on their specific goals, investment horizons, and risk appetite.
— And which of this is available or will be available to retail investors? What are the advantages of such products compared to buying the same Bitcoin on crypto exchanges?
— These products are available to private qualified investors. The main advantage of such instruments is that they allow investing in cryptocurrency in rubles within the Russian legal field and infrastructure. This gives the investor the opportunity to diversify their investment portfolio and avoid the risks associated with self-custody of cryptocurrency and the use of unregulated platforms.
We see that investors are consciously looking for ways to invest in cryptocurrency while minimizing operational and settlement risks. Therefore, our instruments may be of interest to different groups of clients — both those who already own cryptocurrency directly but want to reduce operational risks, and those who are just beginning to build their investment strategy in digital assets.
— What other products are planned as part of the expansion of the lineup? How likely is the future appearance of crypto products with physical delivery?
— Since clients have become noticeably more interested in crypto products, we believe that one of the important trends of the coming years will be the convergence of traditional finance and solutions created on the basis of public blockchains. Sber is systematically developing its own blockchain platform and a line of tokenized products. For us, the main thing in this work is to meet client demands and comply with regulator requirements.
The legal market for crypto instruments in Russia is only just emerging. It has a long way ahead: it is necessary to develop regulation, build infrastructure, fill it with new products, and create a liquid secondary market.
— What other products using blockchain / distributed ledger is the bank working on? What problems can blockchain-based solutions solve?
— We have long perceived distributed ledger technology as a practical tool capable of solving specific business problems. Since 2018, a blockchain laboratory has been operating at Sber — a generator of innovations in this field. And if initially the team was engaged in research and pilot projects, now it has evolved into a full-fledged product unit.
Our own platform for issuing and circulating DFAs already operates on an internal corporate blockchain, which was entirely developed by our team. The technology has proven its reliability, and now we are actively expanding its capabilities — adding new types of smart contracts, automating asset management processes, and implementing tools for different segments of corporate clients.
Sber, as one of the key participants and operator of the blockchain platform, is focused on using technology to open up new directions. Our recent releases — from DFAs on raw materials (petroleum products, bitumen, cocoa) to Russia's first DFA on a basket of cryptocurrencies and a unique index calculated using our neural network model GigaChat — confirm this approach. We are creating instruments that were impossible on the traditional market. This work is carried out in close cooperation with the regulator, where we act as a partner in shaping a new high-tech industry.
— How universal are the bank's crypto or blockchain products for use in global networks? Are there or are there plans for any products with support for open blockchains? If so, which networks are of interest and why?
— The ability of different blockchain systems to interact is an important direction for the development of the digital asset market. This topic is already being discussed substantively by platform operators and regulators. We are confident that for a full-fledged digital economy, it is necessary to combine corporate blockchains with public ones, as well as integrate smart contracts and DeFi solutions.
Specific products that work with open blockchains will become possible when clear regulation appears — especially on issues of taxation, compliance, investor protection, and others. Since these issues are not yet resolved, our main task now is to develop the line of digital financial assets and client services within the framework of Russian legislation.
Current solutions are mainly created in a closed corporate infrastructure. This is due to security requirements, compliance, and controlled access. However, the architecture of our systems already provides for the possibility of connecting to external networks and performing operations between different blockchains.
We are not limited to private networks and are conducting project work that involves the use of public blockchains for certain tasks — for example, for asset tokenization or creating links with decentralized finance platforms. Among public ecosystems, we are particularly interested in networks with developed infrastructure and reliable tools for smart contracts, such as Ethereum. They provide flexible integration opportunities, ensure transparency, and help access international markets.
— There was a recent interesting case where Societe Generale bank listed its stablecoins on the public DeFi platforms Uniswap and Morpho. Does the bank have any experiments in the DeFi sphere? How do you see the interaction between decentralized and traditional financial structures?
— DeFi today is one of the fastest-growing areas in the world of finance, and we are closely monitoring it. The bank is studying how the traditional financial system and decentralized protocols can interact. Such symbiosis is already becoming a reality: large international financial institutions are beginning to use tokenization and issue products such as tokenized money market funds. At the same time, businesses from the crypto industry are moving in the opposite direction — companies are going public (IPO), connecting to banking infrastructure, and becoming part of services for ordinary clients.
In addition, together with the regulator and the government, we are discussing how to expand the list of services in the digital economy. We are working to control the risks that arise from new technologies and create comprehensive rules for this area. These tasks include the legalization of cryptocurrency circulation and improving literacy in working with them using real business cases.
This does not mean that everyone should be immediately allowed access to cryptocurrencies. It is important to go step by step: one can start with the most qualified investors and simple instruments. Along with this, it is necessary to encourage banks to offer clients safe and proven solutions.
— How interested are you in stablecoins? Are any ruble-based ones planned?
— Stablecoins are a new global technological trend that will yet show itself in various financial spheres. These instruments can become important because they can be used for a variety of purposes: payment for goods and services, international transfers, investments. They could become the main way to enter the digital world and be used in smart contracts to make financial operations more automated and transparent.
The annual volume of cross-border transfers in dollar stablecoins already reaches $9-11 trillion. Today, large global issuers of stablecoins hold a significant amount of developed countries' government debt — for example, as USDT does.
For us, one of the promising questions for the future is the legalization and use of stablecoins in the Russian legal field. To keep up with global processes, joint work by the Central Bank and market participants is needed. Sber, as a systemically important bank, is already participating in this work.
— How are DFAs and tokenized assets performing? What are the goals and developments in this area?
— Tokenized assets are being actively tested all over the world now, and Russia is also developing in this direction. For the second year now, trial transactions have been conducted on operator platforms. Sber is actively cooperating with the Bank of Russia and the Ministry of Finance on issues related to the tokenization of assets in the real sector of the economy. Our main goal is to create and implement practical solutions for our clients. We have chosen two directions as more promising: movable property and shares in LLCs. We hope for the speedy adoption of a federal law that will establish an experimental legal regime and allow testing to begin.
Sber is one of the key participants and operators of the digital financial assets market. On our "Digital Assets" platform, we are actively developing a wide range of products for tokenization and key elements of blockchain infrastructure — for example, smart contracts and market oracles. Some solutions have already been launched and are expanding, and for another part, we plan to begin active testing in 2026.
— How does the bank see the future of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technologies globally? Bitcoin, infrastructure networks like Ethereum, what products they will modernize, what use cases there will be.
— The market is moving towards more personalized and technological solutions. And traditional finance and DeFi will jointly bring the financial infrastructure to a new level.
Blockchain has long since moved beyond experiments — today it is the basic foundation for the digital economy. In terms of prospects, Bitcoin will most likely retain its status as the basic and most recognizable asset in the cryptocurrency market. And networks like Ethereum and other similar platforms will become the technological basis for tokenization, digital assets, and smart contracts that will serve real economic processes.
The main trend of the coming years is the institutionalization of blockchain. The technology is ceasing to be the domain of enthusiasts and startups and is turning into a financial mainstream. Banks, infrastructure providers, and regulators are now creating rules, standards, and safe conditions for the widespread use of blockchain in settlements, international transfers, financing, and asset management, meaning it is becoming an "embedded" element of financial infrastructure.
Therefore, an extremely important task is the legalization of the circulation of a wide range of digital assets based on blockchain technology. It is necessary to start with pilot projects and proven business cases that will demonstrate real benefits and help work out possible risks.
