Sberbank Proposes Russian Banks as Custodians for Bitcoin Storage

Sberbank has proposed transforming Russian banks into centers for the accounting and storage of cryptocurrencies. This was reported by Vedomosti, citing a statement from the bank’s representative, Anatoly Pronin.

The essence of this initiative is for banks to act as custodians, responsible for safeguarding customers’ digital assets, managing them, and facilitating transactions. The responsibilities of these financial institutions would include:

Cryptowallets would be maintained within the banking system, making it possible to identify owners and monitor transactions.

Banks would establish a three-tiered risk assessment model that includes multifactor verification of transactions, automatic risk classification, and flexible criteria for blocking suspicious transfers.

Financial organizations would oversee transactions, detect questionable deals, and report them to the Federal Financial Monitoring Service. Special attention would be given to cross-border transfers to countries that are considered unfriendly.

«We are prepared to request documentation from clients to validate cross-border transactions to comply with currency regulation and control laws,» Pronin emphasized.

Sberbank also suggested maintaining separate reporting for cryptocurrency transactions and setting limits on the exchange of cryptocurrency for rubles and vice versa. The specific amounts were not disclosed by the bank representative but are included in proposals for the Central Bank of Russia.

Andrei Tugarin, the founder of the legal company GMT Legal, noted that Sberbank’s proposal effectively eliminates anonymity for cryptocurrency users. According to him, the use of the Unified System of Identification and Authentication (ESIA) and checks against sanction lists aim to de-anonymize the market.

«In general, de-anonymization is not a new process, and in jurisdictions where the activities of Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASP) are regulated and licensed, wallet owners are required to undergo KYC, which is not surprising in today’s world,» he added.

Sergey Mendeleev, CEO of Indefibank, expressed skepticism about the necessity of banking custodians, arguing that it contradicts the fundamental nature of cryptocurrencies.

«I genuinely don’t see why I need a custodian to manage my crypto. It was designed to remove custodians from all financial processes,» the expert stated.

Mendeleev pointed out that checks under Federal Law 115 and sanction lists would complicate users’ lives, particularly affecting those under sanctions. However, limiting access to foreign exchanges through control of cross-border transactions would not be feasible.

«All cryptocurrency exchanges operate within foreign infrastructures, and the requirements of Russian regulators do not apply to them,» Tugarin emphasized.

Mendeleev also criticized the proposal from Sberbank regarding user protection against hacks.

«I’m not sure that if we compare the rate of hacks on bank accounts to that of crypto wallets, the advantage will lie with the banks,» the expert observed.

He also highlighted the risks of freezing assets. If Tether were to freeze all USDT on Sberbank wallets, users would be unable to access their funds. Mendeleev believes the initiative is outdated and does not meet the challenges of 2025.

It’s worth noting that in late May, the Bank of Russia permitted credit institutions to offer cryptocurrency-based instruments for qualified investors. In early June, Sberbank launched Bitcoin bonds. Furthermore, in April, Russian authorities announced the launch of a cryptocurrency exchange as part of an experimental legal regime.