Sberbank, Russia’s largest and state-controlled lender, has entered the Bank of Russia’s register of crypto exchange operators, allowing it to buy and sell digital currencies in its own name and quote prices directly to customers. The October 12 registration gives Sberbank both licences created under Russia’s new digital-currency framework after it joined the digital depository register on October 6. The bank plans to launch its first retail crypto products on December 1 through SberBank Online, SberInvestments and SberBusiness, initially targeting Bitcoin, Ethereum and Tether’s USDT, subject to the Bank of Russia’s final list of permitted assets and further operating rules. Non-qualified retail investors will face a 300,000-ruble annual purchase limit per intermediary after passing a mandatory test, while qualified investors will have no annual cap. Russia’s exchange-operator register had grown to ten institutions by October 13, as regulators moved to establish a licensed market for digital-asset trading and custody.