Russia Registers First Crypto Exchanges and Depositories

The Bank of Russia has registered four cryptocurrency exchange operators and five digital depositories, establishing the first group of firms authorized to provide regulated trading and custody services under the country’s new framework. Sberbank is listed as a depository, while VTB appears in both registers, according to reports describing the regulator’s lists. The registrations bring major banks and specialist providers into a supervised market for handling digital assets. Exchange operators can buy and sell cryptocurrencies using their own funds, while depositories record assets and transfers and provide customers with access to identifiers for their holdings. The reports name Zefir, Sistema Crypto and T Invest Lab among the exchange operators, and Atomyze, Voltari and Cloud Infrastructure among the depositories. The framework’s start date is unclear. Some accounts say the rules took effect on September 1, while another says the registration framework came into force on October 5. The reports do not establish whether those dates refer to different stages. The Bank of Russia’s registers are described as active, but the discrepancy over when the rules began remains unresolved.