Sberbank moves to expand crypto-backed lending beyond Bitcoin
DeFi & Yields ·
Russia's largest bank plans to let borrowers pledge Ethereum and Tether alongside Bitcoin, pending regulatory clearance.
Anatoly Popov, Deputy Chairman of Sberbank, said the bank intends to broaden its digital-asset-backed lending business, adding Ethereum and Tether (USDT) to Bitcoin as accepted forms of loan collateral, according to TASS reporting relayed by wublockchain.xyz. Popov said the bank already has practical experience handling crypto assets and will adapt its existing lending products rather than build new ones from scratch.
The expansion is not immediate. Sberbank's plan depends on Russia's new regulatory framework fully taking effect, and ETH and USDT specifically cannot be used as collateral until the Bank of Russia permits their public circulation, per the same report. Bitcoin appears to be further along in that process, since it is named first and without the same explicit circulation caveat attached to the other two assets.
A related account in the same cluster indicates the rollout could begin as soon as September, with clients able to borrow against BTC, ETH, and USDT collateral from that point. That timeline has not been independently detailed in the fetched article, which frames the plan primarily as gradual and contingent on regulatory approval rather than fixing a firm launch date.
The move signals a large, systemically important bank positioning itself to formally integrate crypto collateral into mainstream lending once rules permit it, rather than waiting for full legalization before preparing products. Popov's comments suggest Sberbank sees digital-asset-backed loans as a natural extension of services it already offers, adapted rather than reinvented for crypto.
What remains unresolved is the precise regulatory timeline: when the Bank of Russia will authorize public circulation of ETH and USDT, and whether Bitcoin-backed lending could launch on a separate, faster track. Also unclear is whether the September start date referenced elsewhere in the cluster applies to all three assets or only to Bitcoin initially, with Ethereum and Tether following once circulation approval is granted.