German banks Sberbank and BW‑Bank roll out regulated crypto trading services

Sberbank, Russia’s largest bank, announced it will launch a crypto‑trading infrastructure with a digital custody model by 1 December. The system will record customers’ ownership rights and execute most transactions off‑chain, aligning with new Russian regulations that take effect on 1 September and impose stricter licensing, liquidity and market‑capitalisation requirements for crypto intermediaries.

Separately, Germany’s BW‑Bank has begun offering cryptocurrency trading to a select group of private customers. Through a partnership with Austria’s Bitpanda, which holds a MiCA licence from the German BaFin, the pilot allows the purchase and sale of ten digital assets such as Bitcoin, Ethereum and Solana. After the trial, the service will be opened to all retail clients, integrating crypto into the bank’s broader digital brokerage platform.