Russia’s largest bank, Sber, is preparing to expand its crypto-backed lending to accept Tether’s USDT stablecoin and Ether as collateral alongside Bitcoin — even as the bank questions whether Russia’s own digital ruble has attracted meaningful demand.

Sber will adapt its existing crypto-lending products and gradually expand its offerings as Russia’s new cryptocurrency law takes effect, Deputy Chairman Anatoly Popov said, according to a Friday report from state-run news agency TASS.

The bank plans to begin accepting additional crypto assets as collateral once the Bank of Russia authorizes them for trading on regulated exchanges, Popov said.

The move places one of Russia’s largest financial institutions increasingly at the center of the country’s emerging regulated crypto market, which is set to begin taking shape under legislation signed by President Vladimir Putin on Aug. 4.

Russia opens the door to Bitcoin, Ether and USDT

Under the new law, the Bank of Russia has authority to determine which digital assets can be traded on regulated exchanges.

The central bank proposed Bitcoin, Ether and USDT for regulated exchange trading on Aug. 11, arguing that the assets met criteria including sufficient market capitalization, trading volume and at least five years of price history on overseas markets.

If approved, the framework would give Russia’s crypto market a formal regulatory structure while creating a pathway for major banks such as Sber to expand their exposure to digital assets.

For Sber, that could mean moving beyond Bitcoin-backed lending and toward a broader crypto-credit offering in which major cryptocurrencies and stablecoins can serve as collateral.

The timing is significant. While Russia has spent years developing its central bank digital currency, the country is now simultaneously creating a regulated framework for privately issued crypto assets — giving banks access to instruments that operate outside the traditional state-backed monetary system.

Sber questions whether Russians actually want the digital ruble

Sber’s enthusiasm for regulated crypto assets stands in sharp contrast to its assessment of the digital ruble.

Ahead of the CBDC’s wider rollout on Sept. 1, Sber Chief Financial Officer Taras Skvortsov reportedly questioned whether customers actually want to use Russia’s central bank digital currency, adding that retail and corporate customers, as well as financial institutions, were not actively demanding the digital ruble.

“I don’t see any clear interest in this instrument, apart from the central bank’s.”

The comments expose a striking divide in Russia’s digital-finance strategy: banks may be preparing to put Bitcoin, Ether and USDT to work in financial products while struggling to see comparable demand for the country’s government-backed digital currency.

As Russia’s new crypto rules take effect, Sber’s strategy could therefore become an early test of whether regulated cryptocurrencies can gain a practical foothold in mainstream banking — and whether the digital ruble can generate enough demand to compete for the same financial attention.