The Russian banking giant VTB is preparing to offer clients spot trading services for bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.

According to DLNews, VTB, Russia’s second-largest bank, aims to become the first major national institution to offer clients direct (spot) trading of bitcoin and other digital assets in 2026.

Andrey Yatskov, head of VTB’s brokerage division, told Russian media that client demand to operate with “real” cryptocurrencies – not just derivatives – is growing significantly. Reportedly, the bank will allow spot purchases of cryptocurrencies through clients’ brokerage accounts.

Currently, banks can only offer derivative instruments tied to digital assets, a permission granted earlier this year to VTB, rival Sberbank, and the Moscow Exchange.

VTB plans to initially test its spot trading platform with “super-qualified clients,” meaning those with assets over $1.3 million or annual income above $649,000. The bank expects broader authorizations as regulatory restrictions ease, a transition described by the central bank’s first deputy governor as a “strategic response to sanction regimes.”

The bank has a market capitalization of approximately $244 billion, assets worth around $413 billion, and more than 1,300 branches across Russia.

Earlier this year, the Bank of Russia reportedly began allowing domestic banks to conduct limited cryptocurrency operations under strict regulatory oversight. Vladimir Chistyukhin, First Deputy Chairman, stated at the time: “We hold conservative views and think about how appropriate it is for the banking sector to include cryptocurrency in its assets.”

Meanwhile, a senior Kremlin official has proposed that Russia consider bitcoin mining as a formal export sector, arguing that large volumes of mined bitcoins effectively leave the national economy even without crossing physical borders.

At the “Russia Calling!” investment forum, Maxim Oreshkin – deputy chief of staff to President Vladimir Putin – stated that digital asset flows are “enormous” but absent from official statistics, despite influencing the foreign exchange market and Russia’s balance of payments.

Oreshkin described the sector as “a new and underestimated export item” that the state fails to measure adequately. As Russian companies increasingly use cryptocurrencies to pay import invoices, he emphasized, such transactions should be counted in the nation’s trade and currency calculations.