Russia’s biggest bank, Sberbank, has launched a new bond that links investor returns to how Bitcoin performs and how strong the US dollar is compared to the ruble.
Right now, it’s only available to a small group of qualified investors, but it shows that Russian banks are starting to take crypto more seriously.
The timing is no coincidence. Just last week, the Bank of Russia officially confirmed that financial institutions can offer crypto-linked products to select investors, as long as they operate within the country’s regulatory framework.
That subtle policy shift has now opened the door for more traditional financial products to quietly incorporate digital assets like Bitcoin.
With Sberbank’s new bond, investors don’t need to open a crypto wallet or register on international platforms. Everything is processed in rubles, under the Russian legal infrastructure.
The product tracks two key metrics. First, the future performance of Bitcoin is priced in US dollars. Second, the movement of the dollar itself against the ruble. Depending on how those two factors play out, investors can earn returns, all without touching crypto directly.
This isn’t just a one-off product. Sberbank has also announced plans to bring more crypto-exposed structured instruments to the Moscow Exchange. In addition, the bank will launch a Bitcoin futures product on June 4 through its SberInvestments platform, aligned with the same futures debuting on the exchange.
For a country that has kept digital assets at arm’s length, this is a cautious but clear shift. Sberbank’s move suggests that Russia is starting to find ways to give its investors exposure to Bitcoin, without letting go of regulatory control. It’s crypto, but on Russia’s terms.
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