New regulations for Russian crypto assets will come into effect on September 1st. Russia's largest bank, Sberbank, expects that after the implementation of these regulations, the scale of local crypto transactions will significantly increase, and they are preparing to expand the collateral for loans from Bitcoin to Ethereum and USDT.
The vice chairman of the company, Anatoly Popov, stated in an interview with TASS that in the first full year after the implementation of the new regulations, the scale of cryptocurrency transactions in Russia could reach 4 trillion rubles, which is approximately 46.4 billion US dollars; by 2029, this figure may rise to 7.5 trillion rubles, equivalent to about 87 billion US dollars.
The scope of collateral is proposed to be expanded to ETH and USDT.
Popov indicates that the Russian Savings Bank plans to accept not only Bitcoin but also Ethereum and the stablecoin USDT issued by Tether as collateral for loans. However, this arrangement is contingent on the Russian Central Bank first allowing these assets to circulate among the public.
At present, the loan amount, interest rate, and official launch time have not been disclosed. The advancement of related business still depends on subsequent approval from the central bank.
The new law covers transactions, custody, and cross-border payments.
Russian President Putin signed laws related to crypto assets at the beginning of August, establishing a regulatory framework for crypto transactions, custody, and cross-border payments. At the same time, Russia continues to maintain a restriction that crypto assets cannot be used for the payment of goods and services within the country.
Following this, the Russian Central Bank published a draft list of assets that can be publicly traded. The screening criteria included market capitalization, trading volume, and at least 5 years of price history. According to this draft, only Bitcoin, Ethereum, and USDT were included in the list, while tokens such as XRP did not make it onto the list.
Banks have tested Bitcoin pledged loans
The Russian Savings Bank stated that it has prepared in advance for changes in regulations and has accumulated experience in digital asset business. In December 2025, the bank conducted a pilot program for Bitcoin collateral loans with the mining company Intelion.
In Russia's current environment of high interest rates, there is also a real demand for such loan products. The report mentions that the current benchmark interest rate in Russia is 14%. For entities that hold cryptocurrencies, such as mining companies, if they sell their crypto assets directly, they will miss out on potential price increases in the future; however, by using their crypto holdings as collateral to obtain credit, they can maintain their positions while also gaining liquidity.
