Alfa-Bank Prepares Digital Depository Amid Russia's Crypto Regulation Timeline

Russia's largest private bank, Alfa-Bank, is gearing up to launch its own digital depository and offer clients a range of cryptocurrency services once the country's regulatory framework takes effect.

The plan hinges on regulation that Russia is still finalizing, with September 1 set as the new target date for crypto regulation. The First Deputy Central Bank Chairman Vladimir Chistyukhin expects the regulations needed for the first legal transactions to be published by November.

Alfa-Bank's chief operating officer Dmitry Vitman framed custody as the starting point for everything that follows, stating that the bank plans 'to create our own digital depository and offer its services to other companies.' Retail brokerage would develop first across Russian and international rails, potentially launching in late 2026 or early 2027 if the digital currency law takes force.

The bank does not expect meaningful liquidity or volumes in Russia's crypto market before late 2027. Vitman tied the wider rollout to the pace at which regulators publish the final rules, expecting the market to build gradually rather than arrive fully formed.