Russia Proposes New Rules Allowing Retail Crypto Trading

• Both qualified investors and intermediaries would be allowed to buy and sell most cryptocurrencies, except privacy-focused tokens.
• The non-qualified investors will need to pass a risk awareness test before trading.

The central bank of Russia laid out regulations allowing non-qualified investors to trade a few cryptocurrencies, as per the policy submitted to the government for review. This proposal will further allow qualified as well as non-qualified investors to trade crypto under different conditions, while keeping a ban on crypto for any domestic payments. 

The central bank defined digital assets as foreign currency instruments. The non-qualified investors will need to pass a risk awareness test before trading. The access will be restricted to highly liquid tokens and capped at 300,000 rubles per intermediary annually, as mentioned in the proposal. 

Both qualified investors and intermediaries would be allowed to buy and sell most cryptocurrencies, except privacy-focused tokens using smart contracts hiding transaction details. These members will encounter no investment cap but will mandatorily fulfil the same risk awareness test, as per the bank. 

The upcoming events 

The proposal also includes the authorisation of Russian nationals to buy crypto over foreign exchange through overseas bank accounts. Investors could easily move the current digital assets abroad via Russian intermediaries while reporting every activity to tax authorities.  

The central bank also mentioned that the legislative changes could be concluded by July next year, and the penalties for unlicensed crypto intermediary activity will initiate in July 2027. The proposal shows the elaboration of a previous plan that limited crypto trading to qualified investors under a three-year experimental regime. 

Officials mentioned that the goal is to amplify market transparency and set up clearer standards for cryptocurrency services. On the other hand, Russia is setting up a phased national launch of its digital ruble set for September next year. 

In July, the legislation passed requiring merchants earning over 120 million rubles on an annual basis to accept digital ruble payments from that date. Mid-sized companies need to follow in 2027, having full adoption scheduled for 2028. 

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