Russia's Sber Plans to Accept USDT and Ethereum as Loan Collateral

Russia's largest bank, Sber, plans to expand its crypto loan collateral to include Tether's USDt stablecoin and Ethereum, having previously supported only Bitcoin. Deputy Chairman Anatoly Popov said the bank will gradually expand related products after Russia's new crypto law takes effect, pending central bank approval for these assets to trade publicly. President Vladimir Putin signed the crypto law on August 4, with core provisions effective September 1, granting the central bank authority to decide which crypto assets can trade on regulated exchanges. The central bank proposed on August 11 allowing Bitcoin, Ethereum, and USDT to trade on regulated exchanges, citing their compliance with requirements for market capitalization, trading volume, and at least five years of overseas price history. Meanwhile, Sber CFO Taras Skvortsov expressed caution about the digital ruble, noting no visible interest from retail or corporate clients in the CBDC beyond the central bank.