Russia’s second-largest lender, VTB, is positioning itself to become the first major bank in the country to let customers trade bitcoin and crypto directly. 

Andrey Yatskov, head of VTB’s brokerage arm, told Russian outlet RBC that client demand for “real” crypto — not just derivative products — is rising sharply. “As we see it, real cryptocurrency will be available for purchase via our brokerage accounts,” he said, according to DLNews reporting.

The move comes despite the fact that crypto trading remains unregulated in Russia. For now, banks can only offer crypto-linked derivatives, a permission granted earlier this year to VTB, rival Sberbank, and the Moscow…

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