Russia’s central bank finalized rules allowing exchanges to offer Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH) and Tether USDt (USDT) to retail investors starting Nov. 17, according to a Cointelegraph report published on Nov. 7, 2026.
Non-qualified investors will be able to purchase up to 300,000 rubles (around $3,700) in cryptocurrency annually through each intermediary, including brokers, asset managers and crypto exchange providers. Qualified investors will face no purchase limits. All investors, however, must pass a mandatory test before trading.
Regulatory framework and exchange rollout
The rules build on legislation signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin on Aug. 4, establishing a regulated cryptocurrency market under central bank oversight. The Bank of Russia published draft regulations on Aug. 11, identifying BTC, ETH and USDT as eligible for public trading based on market capitalization, average daily trading volume and at least five years of price history on foreign exchanges.
The law took effect on Sept. 1. In October, the central bank authorized Sberbank, Russia’s largest bank, to offer crypto exchange services.
Separately, Moscow Exchange—the country’s largest securities exchange and a publicly traded company—was preparing to launch cryptocurrency trading on Dec. 1, initially offering the same three assets through pilot transactions.
Restrictions outside regulated platforms
The expansion of regulated access comes alongside restrictions on other forms of crypto activity. According to the Bank of Russia, transfers from regulated digital accounts to self-custody wallets were already banned at the time of the report. Direct peer-to-peer crypto trading will be prohibited starting July 1, 2027.
Russia also maintains a ban on using cryptocurrency to pay for goods and services.
Original source: Cointelegraph, published Nov. 7, 2026, at 02:47:45 UTC+08:00.