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Sberbank, Russia's largest lender, intends to accept Bitcoin ($BTC), Ether ($ETH), and Tether (USDT) as security on loans, deputy chairman Anatoly Popov told TASS on Friday.
The expansion is conditional on the Bank of Russia authorizing those coins for public circulation, a step the regulator has not yet taken. President Vladimir Putin signed Russia's digital currency law on August 4.
A week later, the Bank of Russia published its first approved coin list, screening for size, high daily turnover, and at least five years of price history on foreign exchanges.
Only three coins cleared that screen: Bitcoin, ether, and USDT. The regulator was explicit that others remain outside it. The law takes effect September 1. Under it, crypto cannot be used for payments inside Russia.
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