Russia may soon legalize major cryptocurrencies – including Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and the stablecoins USDT and USDC – Expert reports, citing a statement from a representative of the Ministry of Finance.
Under the proposed framework, non-qualified investors would be permitted to invest in digital assets with an average market capitalization exceeding RUR 5 tln ($68.4 bln) over the past two calendar years.
The primary benefit for retail investors would be legal certainty, explains Igor Rastorguyev, lead analyst at Amarkets. Currently, a large portion of Russian BTC and ETH holders operate in a “gray zone”: they de facto own the assets, but de jure lack protection against losses through an intermediary. Once legalized, transactions conducted through licensed brokers and exchangers registered with the Central Bank would become legally binding, providing a basis for legal recourse.
Market access would also broaden for more conservative investors: those who have so far steered clear of cryptocurrencies precisely because of their unregulated status and who would now have access to a clear and lawful investment instrument. The Central Bank has drawn up a list of assets eligible for non-qualified investors: Bitcoin, Ethereum, and the stablecoin USDT. Vladimir Chistyukhin, First Deputy Governor of the Bank of Russia, has explicitly stated that the list will not be expanded for the time being. To be admitted to trading, all investors – both qualified and non-qualified – must pass a test, the results of which remain valid for one year, the expert emphasizes.
According to Rastorguyev, the bar for exchange trading has been set high: average market capitalization over the past two years must exceed RUR 5 tln, average daily trading volume must be over RUR 1 tln, and the trading history must span at least five years. BTC and ETH, along with several other major assets such as Solana, BNB, and TRON, meet these criteria. The situation with stablecoins remains more fluid: the Ministry of Finance is discussing additional restrictions on USDT, which could theoretically be frozen by an issuer based in an “unfriendly” country – a genuine regulatory risk.
“For the Russian financial market, legalization sets off two parallel processes,” notes Rastorguyev. “The first is the emergence of a new asset class within the brokerage infrastructure: management companies and brokers will be able to offer cryptocurrency products to clients, expanding the range of investment instruments. The second is infrastructural pressure: exchanges and brokers will need new systems for storage, accounting, and reporting, which creates operational costs in the short term while opening up new sources of commission income over the longer term.”
He also highlights the foreign trade dimension: the Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank have agreed to legalize the use of cryptocurrencies in foreign economic activity. This effectively formalizes an already established practice of international settlements and gives businesses a transparent tool that had previously been used in a “gray zone.”
At the same time, legalization carries systemic risks that the regulator is well aware of, the analyst believes. Cryptocurrency markets are highly volatile: including BTC and ETH in the retail portfolios of non-qualified investors raises the risk of substantial losses during sharp corrections – which is precisely why the Central Bank has declined to expand the list of available assets or raise investment limits. Moreover, the ban on domestic cryptocurrency transactions remains in place: cryptocurrency is not recognized as a means of payment, ruling out any possibility of BTC competing with the ruble.
“Overall, Russia is following a path similar to that taken by the EU (under MiCA regulation) and the US: moving from bans and “gray zones” to regulated but limited circulation. For investors, this means lower legal risks and broader access, but by no means a free market – think of it more as “managed legalization” under the close supervision of the Bank of Russia,” the expert concludes.