VTB Bank is making one grand move within Russia's financial landscape.
The second-largest lender in Russia is preparing to offer qualified investors spot crypto trading next year, a first for any Russian financial institution to provide direct, deliverable access to assets such as BTC and ETH.
Only high-net-worth clients qualify with a portfolio of more than $1.3 million or annual income in excess of $650,000, and VTB doesn't expect crypto demand to explode among the general public. But the move signals a massive shift:
Crypto is increasingly being used by Russia to work its way around Western sanctions, especially in its $192B oil trade with China and India.
???? An estimated 20 million Russians already use crypto in some capacity.
The Bank of Russia has finally opened a door to banks' operations in the crypto sector for the first time.
VTB's entry puts it among a small but growing set of global banks- including Standard Chartered, Santander, and BBVA-already offering institutional-grade crypto trading.
A quiet yet unmistakable signal: Traditional finance is going deeper into digital assets, even in the most heavily sanctioned regions. #CryptoNews #Bitcoin #Ethereum #DigitalAssets #Blockchain $BTC $
