Russia’s central bank has proposed allowing Bitcoin, Ether and Tether’s USDT to enter public trading on regulated exchanges under the country’s new cryptocurrency framework. The three assets appear explicitly in a draft directive published by the Bank of Russia on August 11. The proposal would create a tightly controlled entry point for major cryptocurrencies into Russia’s organized financial markets rather than opening exchanges to unrestricted token listings.
The draft implements provisions of Federal Law No. 282-FZ, signed on August 4 and scheduled to take effect September 1. That legislation creates regulated infrastructure for crypto exchanges, brokers, asset managers and digital depositaries while giving the central bank authority to establish which cryptocurrencies can be offered publicly. Bitcoin, Ethereum and USDT are the regulator’s first proposed shortlist under that new authority.
Retail Access Comes With a 300,000-Ruble Annual Limit
Non-qualified investors would be allowed to purchase eligible cryptocurrencies only after completing a suitability test, with purchases capped at 300,000 rubles per calendar year through each intermediary. The Bank of Russia says the restriction applies separately to brokers, crypto exchange providers and asset managers. The structure gives retail investors regulated access while deliberately limiting the amount they can expose through any single intermediary.
Qualified investors would face substantially fewer restrictions. They would still need to complete testing and review crypto-specific risks, but the central bank says they could purchase cryptocurrencies available in both exchange and over-the-counter markets without transaction-value limits. Investor status therefore determines both the breadth of eligible assets and the amount of capital that can be deployed.
The eligibility rules for public exchange trading are also deliberately demanding. Under the new law, an asset must have averaged more than 5 trillion rubles in market capitalization and more than 1 trillion rubles in daily trading volume over the preceding two calendar years. It must also have at least five years of disclosed pricing history on a licensed overseas venue meeting additional volume requirements. The thresholds effectively reserve public access for cryptocurrencies with substantial global liquidity and established trading histories.
USDT Joins Bitcoin and Ether Under the Same Framework
Including USDT is particularly notable because the new Russian legislation applies cryptocurrency requirements to foreign stablecoins as well. The Bank of Russia has consequently placed Tether’s dollar-linked token alongside Bitcoin and Ether rather than establishing a separate public-trading category for stablecoins. For regulatory access purposes, the proposed shortlist treats USDT as one of the highly liquid digital assets that satisfies the statutory market tests.
The framework does not legalize cryptocurrency as a domestic payment method. The Bank of Russia says using crypto to pay for goods and services inside Russia remains prohibited, while separate provisions allow its use in certain cross-border trade arrangements. The proposal expands regulated investment and trading access without turning Bitcoin, Ether or USDT into legal alternatives to the ruble for domestic payments.
The shortlist is not yet final. The Bank of Russia is accepting comments on the draft through August 24, and the directive would take effect only after formal adoption and publication. Russia is therefore moving toward regulated crypto trading, but BTC, ETH and USDT remain proposed entries rather than assets already admitted to organized public exchange trading under the new regime.