Russia’s largest private bank, Alfa-Bank, has begun testing crypto trading services, COO Dmitry Vitman told Russian news outlets this week. The private lender is preparing to launch its own digital depository and a full slate of crypto services once national regulation takes effect. The bank intends to offer “all possible services related to digital currencies” once the relevant legislation comes into force, according to Vitman.
“First and foremost, we plan to create our own digital depository and offer its services to other companies,” Vitman said. He went on to add that the Russian bank’s retail brokerage will come first, leaning on Russian and international infrastructure, with a possible launch in late 2026 or early 2027 if digital currency legislation enters into force in September 2026.
In addition, the bank also wants to build Russian investment instruments on open blockchains capable of attracting foreign investors. “It’s important for Russia to develop its own instruments; otherwise we’ll have nothing to offer,” Vitman claimed. “We need to attract investors to our infrastructure, so we need to create products that can compete globally.”
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Alfa-Bank isn’t the first Russian bank to begin testing crypto services for its users. Russian state-owned Sberbank is launching a digital depository for storing and accounting for crypto by December 1, 2026. The bank also plans to enable authorized crypto transactions inside its Sber app and SberInvestments, integrating custody directly into services that reach tens of millions of Russians. Furthermore, T-Technologies Group, which controls T-Bank, has announced plans to launch a digital depository built on the Atomize digital financial asset platform and to sell crypto through its broker, T-Investments.
Russia’s administration has become far more crypto-supportive in recent years. The country’s draft law “On Digital Currency and Digital Rights” has passed its first reading in the State Duma, and is