Russia Moves To Legalise Domestic Crypto Deals For Retail Buyers
Qualified investors would be able to buy unlimited amounts of any cryptocurrencies, except anonymous tokens, after passing a risk-awareness test.
Russia's central bank has prepared a framework to regulate cryptocurrencies on the domestic market that will allow retail investors to buy them in addition to qualified investors, in a fresh sign of how sanctions have reshaped its approach to the assets.
Non-qualified investors would be allowed to buy the most liquid cryptocurrencies after passing a knowledge test, with transactions capped at 300,000 rubles (about $3,800) per year through a single intermediary, the Bank of Russia said in a statement Tuesday. Qualified investors would be able to buy unlimited amounts of any cryptocurrencies, except anonymous tokens, after passing a risk-awareness test.
The bank has sent proposals to the government for legislative amendments to regulate the trading by July 1 next year. While it’s unclear how the proposed rules will be enforced, the initiative marks another major shift in the regulator’s stance toward the use of crypto currency.
In January 2022, weeks before Russia started its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the central bank proposed a blanket ban on the use and creation of cryptocurrencies, citing risks to the country’s financial system. It declared that crypto bore the hallmarks of a pyramid scheme.
"The Bank of Russia still considers cryptocurrencies as high-risk assets," it said in the statement Tuesday. "Investors should be aware that they are taking on the risk of potentially losing their funds."
Crypto transactions in Russia would be conducted through existing licensed infrastructure, including exchanges, brokers and trust managers, while separate requirements would apply to custodians and exchange services, it said.
Residents would also be allowed to buy crypto abroad and transfer holdings through Russian intermediaries, subject to tax reporting.
The Bank of Russia first relaxed domestic rules for cryptocurrency transactions for businesses in 2024. Even without full regulation, both Russian citizens and companies have been using cryptocurrencies for international money transfers, a trend that has intensified since 2022 after the imposition of sanctions on major Russian banks.
