Sberbank reports high demand for crypto derivative products in the Russian market after selling digital asset financial products worth 1 billion rubles.
The major bank plans to expand its portfolio of these products, a top executive said, and expects a strong blend of traditional and decentralized finance in the future.
Sberbank raises 1.3 billion rubles from 9 derivative products
Sver, Russia's largest bank by assets, has had great success in setting up financial products based on the value of cryptocurrencies in the months since the Central Bank of Russia (CBR) approved the value of cryptocurrencies.
Financial authorities authorized financial firms to offer crypto derivatives in the domestic market in May, making the financial services giant one of the first to enter the new niche market.
With regulatory consent, Sberbank has created a range of investment products for retail investors in the form of both structured bonds and crypto-based digital financial assets (DFA), Alexander Vedyahin, first vice-chairman of the board of directors, said at a fintech forum.
“More specifically, we offer tracker bonds, capital protection bonds, as well as DFA on Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) indices, as well as DFA on a basket of five infrastructure tokens: SOL, TRX, AVAX and BNB,” the banker elaborated in an interview published by Russian business news portal RBC on Friday.
Speaking on the sidelines of the Finopolis 2025 conference held this week in the Sirius federal territory on the Black Sea coast, Vedyahin made the disclosure:
“We are seeing investor demand for these products. Just nine issues raised 1.3 billion rubles ($16 million).”
A senior Sber representative added that the bank intends to offer more products, provide diversification and reduce risks associated with cryptocurrency investments.
He also commented, “We understand that in the future there will be a strong convergence of decentralized finance and traditional banking,” noting that Russian banks are already testing various DeFi instruments.
Sberbank is also developing tokenization of real-world assets, including real estate, gold, commodities, etc., on its proprietary blockchain platform. The company is also considering introducing smart contracts for banking and payment services.
Sber supports expanding investor access to cryptocurrencies in Russia
Sberbank is working with the government to integrate stablecoins and cryptocurrencies into the Russian economy through new regulations, Alexander Vedyakhin said, stressing:
“This should include legalizing the circulation of cryptocurrencies and improving the culture of working with cryptocurrencies, based on a proven business case.”
As reported by Cryptopolitan, the Bank of Russia indicated this week that it is pushing for the introduction of a comprehensive regulatory framework for crypto investments in 2026, and plans to allow banks to operate in digital assets.
When it allowed the offering of crypto derivatives earlier this year, the CBR made them available only to a small number of “qualified” investors who were screened based on relatively high minimum requirements, including annual income and amount of deposits and securities held.
The potential range of crypto investors could widen even further, Vedyahin said, noting that crypto derivatives are of interest to many market participants, including financial professionals, corporations and banks, as they offer the opportunity to diversify portfolios.
At the same time, it was also made clear that Sberbank supports the gradual expansion of investor access to these products. “In our view, it is wrong to make cryptocurrencies available overnight to all categories of investors,” said the executive of the majority state-owned institution.
