Sberbank Prepares to Accept Ethereum and Tether as Loan Collateral

The institution is positioning itself for a wider adoption of digital assets following a successful pilot program in December 2025, where the bank issued a Bitcoin-backed loan to the mining firm Intelion Data. That transaction provided the bank with critical operational experience in custody, collateral monitoring, and enforcement procedures. While the bank is ready to scale, current plans remain conditional; the inclusion of Ethereum and USDT depends entirely on the central bank’s upcoming list of permissible assets.

Russia’s comprehensive cryptocurrency framework is set to take effect on September 1, 2026, establishing a supervised market involving banks, brokers, and digital depositories. Under these rules, retail investors face specific constraints, including mandatory knowledge testing and annual purchase limits for non-qualified participants. Despite this institutional shift, the government maintains a strict prohibition on using cryptocurrency for domestic payments for goods and services. Sberbank is concurrently building out its own digital depository infrastructure with an internal target of December 1, 2026, to manage wallet support and settlements. Until the regulator finalizes standards for asset valuation and margin requirements, these lending options remain in the planning phase.