Russia’s central bank has finalized rules allowing ordinary investors to trade Bitcoin, Ethereum and Tether on regulated domestic platforms starting November 17, 2026. The Bank of Russia confirmed the decision on November 6, setting a 300,000-ruble annual purchase limit for non-qualified investors through each intermediary. That amount is approximately $3,600 to $3,700, depending on the exchange rate. Qualified investors will not face the same cap and will have access to a broader range of cryptoassets.
The framework follows Federal Law No. 282-FZ, which took effect on September 1 after receiving presidential approval in August. Under the rules, all investors must complete a suitability test and acknowledge cryptocurrency investment risks before conducting transactions. Eligible intermediaries include brokers, asset managers and registered cryptocurrency exchange providers operating in both exchange-traded and over-the-counter markets.
The Bank of Russia selected BTC, ETH and USDT using criteria covering market capitalization, average daily trading volume and at least five years of price history on international platforms. Moscow Exchange is preparing to launch its cryptocurrency market on December 1, beginning with pilot transactions. Trading will follow securities-market hours from 6:50 a.m. to 11:50 p.m. Moscow time, with same-day and next-day settlement options and liquidity-management swaps. Sberbank has received approval to provide cryptocurrency exchange services and is also targeting a December 1 rollout.
While regulated access is expanding, the central bank says direct peer-to-peer transactions between individuals will be prohibited from July 1, 2027. Residents must conduct cryptocurrency transactions through authorized market operators, and transfers from regulated digital accounts to non-custodial wallets will not be allowed. Cryptocurrency payments for goods and services remain banned domestically.
