Key facts
- The central bank's rules let exchanges offer bitcoin, ether and tether to retail investors from November 17.
- Non-qualified investors can buy up to 300,000 rubles (around $3,700) a year through each intermediary.
- Qualified investors face no purchase limits, but all investors must pass a mandatory test before trading.
- The Bank of Russia authorized Sberbank, the country's largest bank, to offer crypto exchange services in October.
- Moscow Exchange plans to launch cryptocurrency trading on December 1 with pilot transactions in the three coins.
- Direct peer-to-peer crypto trading will be prohibited from July 1, 2027, per the Bank of Russia.
Russia's central bank finalized rules that allow exchanges to offer Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH) and Tether USDt (USDT) to retail investors starting November 17, the bank said in a directive published November 6.
Under the rules, non-qualified investors can purchase up to 300,000 rubles (around $3,700) in cryptocurrency annually through each intermediary, including brokers, asset managers and crypto exchange providers. Qualified investors face no purchase limits, but all investors must pass a mandatory test before trading.
The directive builds on legislation signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin on August 4 establishing a regulated cryptocurrency market under central bank oversight. A week later, the Bank of Russia published draft regulations identifying BTC, ETH and USDT as eligible for public trading based on market capitalization, average daily trading volume and at least five years of price history on foreign exchanges.
The law took effect September 1, and the Bank of Russia subsequently authorized Sberbank, the country's largest bank, to offer crypto exchange services in October.
Moscow Exchange, Russia's largest securities exchange and a publicly traded company, plans to launch cryptocurrency trading on December 1, initially offering the three cryptocurrencies through pilot transactions.
While expanding access through regulated platforms, Russia is also tightening restrictions outside those channels. Direct peer-to-peer crypto trading will be prohibited starting July 1, 2027, while transfers from regulated digital accounts to self-custody wallets are already banned, according to the Bank of Russia. The country also maintains a prohibition on using cryptocurrency to pay for goods and services.