Russia Registers First Crypto Exchanges and Custodians, Sberbank Plans December Launch

The registration marks Russia's shift from a grey-area crypto market to a licensed, bank-anchored one, with the country's two largest banks — Sberbank and VTB — at the center. That concentrates digital-asset infrastructure in state-linked institutions rather than independent exchanges, a structure distinct from most Western markets. The open question is whether the September 1 regime and Sberbank's December product launch proceed on schedule, and how the sanctioned-bank context shapes foreign counterparty interest.