Sberbank, Russia’s second-largest bank, issued the country's first bitcoin-backed loan to one of its largest bitcoin miners, calling the transaction a pilot and suggesting it was keen to issue more in the future, CoinDesk.com reported. “We believe this product will be relevant not only for cryptocurrency miners, but also for companies that own cryptocurrencies,” the bank said in a statement. It did not disclose the loan amount. The bank said it used its own crypto custody product, Rutoken, to hold the bitcoin used as collateral for the crypto loan.

Russia’s financial system is reportedly coming under more strain as Moscow’s war on Ukraine nears the end of its fourth full year, Fortune reported. The White House is seeking to revive peace talks this weekend with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky due to meet President Donald Trump in Florida on Sunday. Russian forces stepped up their bombardment of Ukraine ahead of the meeting, but prolonged fighting presents risks for the economy. “A banking crisis is possible,” a Russian official told the Washington Post recently on condition of anonymity.

Russia’s central bank laid out a proposed framework that would legalize and regulate cryptocurrency trading for both individuals and institutions, continuing its softening stance toward cryptocurrencies. However, it continues to caution that investing in crypto carries risks, including potential losses, CoinDesk.com reported. “They are not issued or guaranteed by any jurisdiction and are subject to increased volatility and sanctions risks,” the central bank’s press release said.

Russia’s central bank Friday lowered its key interest rate for a fifth straight meeting, but said it will continue to keep borrowing costs at a level that restrains activity, the Wall Street Journal reported. The Bank of Russia cut its key rate to 16% from 16.5% on Friday, having begun to lower borrowing costs from a recent peak of 21% in June. Further rate cuts are possible, but the central bank said it won’t move quickly to reach a neutral level, where borrowing costs are neither stimulating nor holding back the economy.

European leaders committed to lend Ukraine 90 billion euros, equivalent to around $105 billion, to help the country keep fighting Moscow’s invasion but failed to agree on a plan to use frozen Russian assets for the loan, the Wall Street Journal reported. The vow to loan Ukraine money amounts to a financial lifeline at a crucial moment, but the European Union’s inability to agree on handing Kyiv tens of billions of dollars in Russian funds underlines divisions in the bloc over the extent to which they are prepared to confront Russia.

A fund run by life sciences venture firm Apple Tree Partners filed for bankruptcy months after alleging that its Russian billionaire backer, Dmitry Rybolovlev, hasn’t met financing commitments because of liquidity problems at his family office, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. New York-based Apple Tree Life Sciences filed for chapter 11 reorganization Tuesday in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del., with assets of more than $1 billion and liabilities of less than $500,000.

Russia’s Central Bank has filed a lawsuit against Belgian financial institution Euroclear, the Brussels-based clearing house that holds most of Moscow’s frozen assets in Europe, the bank said Friday, the Associated Press reported. It wasn’t immediately clear what the lawsuit could achieve since it was filed in Moscow. The European Commission, the EU’s executive branch, estimates that 210 billion euros ($247 billion) worth of frozen Russian assets are held in Europe. At the end of September, Euroclear held around 193 billion euros ($225 billion) of the money.

Russia's depressed car market has shown weak signs of recovery as 2025 draws to an end, but is set to hit near-record lows early next year as higher scrappage fees drive up prices, dealers and experts say, Reuters reported. Far from signalling a genuine rebound, a jump in sales of new cars in October reflects a rush by buyers to complete purchases before the higher charges kick in, they say. The outlook highlights the structural crisis in Russia's auto sector that goes back to the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Finnish fuel chain Teboil, which is owned by Russian oil major Lukoil filed for corporate restructuring on Friday, news agency STT reported, citing a court filing, according to Reuters. The United States last month hit Lukoil with sanctions over Moscow's war in Ukraine, disrupting the company's international business. Teboil had on Wednesday said it was preparing to shut down all its stations as fuel runs out. Earlier in the week it had said it expected Lukoil to sell the chain. It was the first of Lukoil's international businesses to say it would close down as a result of the sanctions.

Russian lawmakers endorsed new tax hikes on Tuesday as Moscow looks for new revenue sources to boost its economy during its nearly four-year war with Ukraine, the Associated Press reported. Legislators in the lower house of parliament, the State Duma, approved the key second reading of a bill that will raise value-added tax from 20% to 22%. The changes are expected to add as much as 1 trillion rubles (about $12.3 billion) to the state budget.