Russia’s largest private lender, Alfa Bank, is preparing to launch a digital depository that would allow it to provide cryptocurrency custody and related services once new national rules for digital assets come into force.
The plan places Alfa Bank among a growing group of major Russian financial institutions building infrastructure for regulated crypto activity, as lawmakers move closer to approving a long-awaited framework for digital currency and digital rights. The bank’s proposed depository would be responsible for storing, recording and transferring digital assets under regulatory supervision.
Alfa Bank Chief Operating Officer Vitman said the lender first intends to roll out a brokerage platform aimed at retail clients, potentially by late 2026 or early 2027. He said wider liquidity in Russia’s crypto asset market is unlikely to emerge before the end of 2027, suggesting that the early phase of the market will remain limited and tightly controlled.
The lender’s digital depository is expected to be created after the new legislation takes effect. The entity would form the operational base for services including crypto custody, trading support and blockchain-based financial products designed partly to attract foreign capital.
Banks prepare for regulated crypto services
Alfa Bank’s move comes as Sber, VTB and T-Bank are also preparing digital depositories and crypto wallets ahead of the final approval of the legal framework. These banks have been positioning themselves for a market in which digital assets can be held and transferred through licensed institutions rather than through unregulated channels.
The draft law, known as the bill “On digital currency and digital rights,” has already cleared its first reading and is moving through the State Duma. It lays out licensing standards for companies handling digital assets and gives the Bank of Russia supervisory power over trading, custody and related activities.
The law had initially been expected to take effect on July 1, but implementation was postponed while parliament reviewed amendments. The State Duma’s Financial Market Committee approved an updated version of the text on July 7, advancing it toward a second reading. Current expectations point to the law taking effect around September 1, 2026.
For banks, the revised schedule provides a clearer timetable for launching services. For traders, it signals that access to crypto through mainstream financial institutions may begin under a more formal structure later this year, though full market development could take longer.
The legislation is designed to bring digital assets inside a regulated financial perimeter while maintaining strict controls on their domestic use. Russia will continue to prohibit the use of digital currencies for payments inside the country, preserving the ruble as the only legal tender. At the same time, the framework would allow companies to use digital currencies for cross-border settlements, an area that has become increasingly important for international trade.
Alfa Bank’s planned platform
Vitman said Alfa Bank’s initial focus will be the development of a brokerage platform for retail clients. The bank expects this platform could be introduced by the end of 2026 or in early 2027, depending on regulation, technical readiness and market conditions.
The platform would likely serve as a gateway for clients to access permitted digital asset products through a regulated intermediary. Alfa Bank is also testing crypto trading inside its Alfa-Investments app, though current access is limited to a small group of qualified traders while final rules remain pending.
The bank’s planned digital depository would support the custody layer behind future crypto services. In traditional financial markets, depositories play a central role in holding and tracking ownership of securities. In the digital asset market, a regulated depository would perform a similar function for crypto assets and digital rights, including the recording of balances, settlement of transfers and protection of ownership claims.
Vitman said the depository would become the foundation for a broader set of services, including trading operations and products based on blockchain infrastructure. The bank also sees potential to use the structure to support foreign capital flows, although the scale of such activity will depend on the final rules and the pace at which market participants receive licenses.
His comments suggest that Alfa Bank does not expect an immediate surge in local crypto liquidity. Instead, the lender appears to be preparing for a staged rollout, beginning with limited products and expanding as regulation, demand and infrastructure mature.
New rules near final approval
The updated version of the digital currency bill is central to the plans now being made by Russian banks. Financial Market Committee Chairman Anatoly Aksakov has said the second and third readings are tentatively scheduled for July 21. If approved, the law is expected to formally take effect on September 1, 2026.
The timing would create a new legal environment for banks, brokers and other licensed providers. First Deputy Governor of the Bank of Russia Vladimir Chistyukhin has suggested that the first legal transactions under the new regime could begin as early as November 2026.
One notable change in the latest draft removes a requirement that individuals disclose specific foreign wallet addresses. Instead, individuals would declare total balances and transaction volumes. The change was designed to reduce the risk of personal data leaks while still giving authorities visibility into the scale of crypto holdings and activity.
The bill also introduces judicial protection for ownership rights over digital assets. That protection would apply regardless of whether the assets had previously been declared. This provision is important because it gives courts a basis to recognize and protect digital asset ownership under Russian law.
At the same time, the framework sets clear limits for retail activity. Non-qualified retail traders would be allowed to purchase up to 300,000 rubles’ worth of digital assets per year through any single licensed intermediary. The Bank of Russia has said that this annual ceiling is not currently open to revision.
The limit reflects the central bank’s cautious approach to crypto exposure among the general public. Russian regulators have repeatedly expressed concern about volatility, fraud risks and the potential use of digital assets outside formal oversight. The new law attempts to balance those concerns with the reality that digital assets are already being used by companies and individuals.
Sber, VTB and T-Bank move in parallel
Sberbank is preparing one of the most visible crypto infrastructure launches among Russian financial institutions. The bank is targeting December 1, 2026, for the introduction of its own crypto wallet and digital depository.
The service is expected to be integrated into Sberbank Online and SberInvestments, placing digital asset access inside platforms already used by millions of clients. That integration could make Sber one of the first large banks in Russia to offer regulated digital asset tools at significant scale, provided the law is enacted as expected and the bank receives the necessary approvals.
VTB and T-Bank are also preparing digital custody and wallet services. Their participation suggests that the market is likely to develop through large, regulated financial institutions rather than through smaller independent platforms. This direction is consistent with Russia’s broader approach to financial oversight, where the central bank plays a strong supervisory role and major banks are expected to carry much of the infrastructure burden.
For Alfa Bank, competition from state-linked giants such as Sber and VTB creates pressure to move quickly but carefully. Its strategy of first launching a brokerage platform and then building deeper liquidity may reflect an effort to capture retail demand while avoiding overextension in a market that is still being defined by law.
Cross-border settlements remain the key opening
Although domestic payments in digital currency will remain banned, the bill creates an important opening for cross-border trade. Companies would be given more flexibility to use digital currencies for international settlements, a channel that has already become significant.
Crypto-facilitated trade settlements in Russia reached about 1 trillion rubles, or roughly $11 billion, in 2025, according to figures cited in the policy discussion. That volume reflects the growing role of alternative settlement tools as companies look for ways to handle international payments under difficult financial conditions.
The new legal structure would not make digital currencies legal tender inside Russia. Instead, it would establish a controlled route for businesses to use them in external transactions while keeping domestic monetary policy centered on the ruble.
This distinction is important. The government is not creating a free-use crypto economy for everyday payments. It is designing a regulated system in which licensed institutions can hold and process digital assets, and approved companies can use them in specific circumstances, especially for cross-border commerce.
For banks, cross-border settlement activity could become one of the most commercially meaningful parts of the new framework. Custody, compliance, transaction monitoring and reporting services may all be required as companies move digital assets through licensed channels.
Licensing and compliance timeline
The law is expected to include a transition period allowing companies to meet licensing and registration requirements. That transition period would run until July 1, 2027.
After that date, administrative and criminal penalties for non-compliance are set to take effect. This gives banks and other financial firms roughly a year after the anticipated September 2026 start date to align systems, internal controls and reporting procedures with the new requirements.
The timeline is also relevant for traders. The first legal services may become available in late 2026, but the broader market may not reach full regulatory maturity until 2027. Alfa Bank’s own expectation that meaningful liquidity may not arrive before the end of 2027 fits this staged rollout.
The Bank of Russia will have central authority over supervision. Its role will include oversight of trading and custody services, licensing standards and compliance with restrictions on retail activity. The central bank’s influence means the market is likely to develop conservatively, with close scrutiny of risk management and customer protection practices.
A controlled market takes shape
Russia’s emerging crypto framework is not a broad liberalization of digital assets. It is a controlled integration of crypto into the formal financial system, with large banks expected to serve as the main access points.
Alfa Bank’s planned digital depository reflects that shift. Rather than treating cryptocurrency as an outside market, the new model would bring custody, trading support and asset transfers into licensed institutions subject to central bank oversight.
The final legislative readings expected around July 21 will be closely watched by banks, companies and traders seeking clarity on the exact rules. If the law takes effect on September 1 as expected, Russia could see its first regulated crypto transactions under the new framework before the end of 2026.
For now, the direction is clear: Russian banks are building the infrastructure for a regulated digital asset market, but access will be gradual, limits will remain in place, and the most important early use case may be international trade rather than everyday domestic payments.
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