Sberbank will hold crypto in its wallets until the miner repays the loan. The loan was secured by digital currency mined by Intelion Data, one of Russia’s biggest Bitcoin miners. The bank did not disclose the loan size or the amount of collateral, and it said it used its own custody solution, Rutoken, as part of the loan process. “This guarantees the assets’ safety during the loan period,” Sberbank wrote.
Regulatory context is evolving; Anatoly Popov, Sberbank’s deputy chair, said the regulation of digital currency markets is still in its infancy and that the bank is ready to work with the Central Bank to develop regulatory solutions and infrastructure for similar services. Intelion Data mined Bitcoin using almost 300 MW of power in 2024. The bank said the custody arrangement through Rutoken guarantees the assets’ safety during the loan period, and Timofey Semenov, Intelion Data’s CEO, called the loan an important practical example for the industry.
Earlier this month, Sberbank said it was testing a range of decentralised finance tools and supports gradual legalization of cryptocurrencies within the Russian legal framework. Sberbank rivals like VTB have suggested they want to accommodate customers’ desire to buy and sell real crypto. Intelion Data reportedly generated about $79 million in revenue in 2024 and continues to expand its mining capacity near the Kalinin Nuclear Power Plant, along with related power-generation projects. The central bank has signaled that ordinary Russians could be allowed to trade crypto within a defined annual limit.
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