Overview
- On Tuesday, Aug. 11 the Bank of Russia published a draft directive that lists Bitcoin, Ethereum and Tether USDT as the only cryptocurrencies initially eligible for organized retail trading.
- The draft formalizes mandatory investor testing and a 300,000‑ruble annual purchase cap per intermediary for non‑qualified (retail) investors while qualified investors face no purchase limits.
- The directive opens a public comment period through Aug. 24 and is set to take effect with core provisions on Sept. 1, 2026, with operator registration and tougher capital and operational rules phased into 2027.
- Market operators must enter a special registry and meet minimum equity and reporting rules, placing banks and licensed intermediaries as the on‑ramps that will monitor and block unregistered counterparties.
- The law keeps domestic crypto payments banned but allows certain cross‑border uses, a carve‑out shaped in part by Russia’s restricted access to international payment systems and sanctions pressures.