Russia’s largest bank suddenly announced: Bitcoin can be used as a mortgage for a house! BTC, ETH, and USDT all become “hard currency” #Sberbank #《Digital Currency and Digital Rights Law》#digital ruble

Original author：AI悟空说

Original source：https://www.youtube.com/embed/Hg_bcDHsGxs

On August 30, 2026, Sberbank, Russia's largest bank, announced that it planned to accept Bitcoin, Ethereum and USDT as loan collateral. Vice Chairman Anatoly Popov confirmed that the move required approval from the central bank. The Russian Central Bank proposed on August 11 that these three types of assets be included in the tradable list of regulated exchanges on the grounds that they meet hard indicators such as market capitalization, trading volume and overseas five-year price history. The timing of this action is extremely critical - the "Digital Currency and Digital Rights Law" signed by Putin on August 4 will officially take effect on September 1. This is Russia's first law to comprehensively regulate the circulation of cryptocurrency. Its core logic is to open transactions and prohibit payments, that is, crypto assets are allowed to be used in exchange operations and foreign trade settlements, but they are still not allowed to be used to pay for goods and services within the country. At the same time, the annual purchase limit for non-qualified investors is 300,000 rubles, and qualified investors can obtain qualifications through testing. As a state-owned banking giant with 110 million retail customers and 3.5 million corporate customers, Sberbank had multiple considerations in choosing to enter the market at this time: regulatory certainty has finally arrived, and banks no longer worry about repeated policies; under the pressure of international sanctions, crypto-assets provide sanctions for sanctioned entities. There is room for imagination in compliant capital channels; the high domestic benchmark interest rate of 14% makes traditional borrowing costs extremely high, and mining companies and currency holders would rather pledge crypto assets than sell them; the combined market value of Bitcoin and Ethereum exceeds US$2 trillion, and this huge collateral pool is a huge temptation for any bank. Sberbank aims to launch crypto trading and custody services by December 1, and its crypto mortgage business is seen as an extension of this strategy. Globally, JPMorgan Chase has opened Bitcoin and Ethereum mortgage loans to institutional customers through the Kinexys platform in August, with loan-to-value ratios of about 50% to 70%; Silicon Valley Bank reports show that the total number of global crypto mortgage loans has climbed to $67 billion, a year-on-year increase of 49%; Coinbase and Better Mortgage have launched crypto mortgage mortgages, and Figure Company provides products with up to 75% LTV. PwC predicts that some digital assets will be officially recognized as collateral in 2026, and the encryption industry is moving from DeFi lending to a traditional bank compliance credit framework. However, the challenges are equally significant: Bitcoin and Ethereum fluctuate violently on a daily basis. On August 31, the price fluctuated around US$80,000. Banks must design an extremely conservative liquidation mechanism; Popov did not disclose the pledge rate and interest rate, and crypto payments are prohibited in Russia. Once the borrower defaults, banks lack legal liquidity channels, and foreign trade settlement alone is far from enough; Sb Erbank's state-owned status and existing sanctions risks may trigger a regulatory backlash from the U.S. Treasury Department and the European Union, especially the role of USDT in sanctioned economies. Alfa-Bank executives pointed out that substantial liquidity in Russia's regulated crypto market may not be formed until the end of 2027, and the short-term business scale may be very limited. What’s even more intriguing is that Sberbank’s chief financial officer publicly stated that almost no one except the central bank is interested in the digital ruble. This situation of “embracing foreign assets and neglecting its own CBDC” truly reflects market preference – what people need is truly globally liquid encrypted assets, not digital fiat currencies controlled by the central bank. Overall, Sberbank’s move is an inevitable outcome of Russia’s implementation of encryption supervision. It is also an attempt to break through the financial sector in the context of sanctions. It is also another landmark node for the integration of global crypto assets into the traditional credit system. But the door has been opened, and how far it can go still depends on multiple variables such as the central bank's official approval, market liquidity, price stability and Western reaction. Investors need to be clearly aware of the volatility risks and liquidation risks involved.