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Sberbank Pilots Russia’s First Bitcoin-Backed Loan With Miner Intelion Data

The test places mined bitcoin in bank custody to probe compliance within Russia’s early-stage rulemaking.

Overview

  • The loan is secured by cryptocurrency mined by Intelion Data, with collateral held in Sberbank’s in-house Rutoken custody platform.
  • Sberbank labeled the transaction a pilot and withheld the loan’s size, tenor, and detailed collateral terms to focus on technical and legal validation.
  • Deputy chair Anatoly Popov said regulation remains in its infancy and the bank will coordinate with the Central Bank to shape compliant digital-asset services.
  • Sberbank signaled the structure could extend beyond miners to other companies holding crypto, building on its broader experiments with DeFi tools and crypto-linked products.
  • Intelion Data is among Russia’s largest industrial miners, reporting $79 million in 2024 revenue and expanding facilities near the Kalinin Nuclear Power Plant in Tver.