Bank of Russia Targets Wealthy Crypto Traders With Experimental Regulation Proposal

• Russians with wealth exceeding $1 million could qualify for a new crypto trading regime.
• A digital ruble CBDC has been postponed indefinitely following growing concerns from citizens and banks.
• Russia prohibits using crypto to pay for goods and services domestically but encourages businesses to use Bitcoin in international trade.

The Central Bank of Russia (BoR) has proposed creating an experimental regime that would legalize cryptocurrency trading for “specially qualified” Russian investors.

It marks yet another step toward establishing a foothold in the digital assets space, though it only appears to serve the wealthier members of its nation for the next three years at least.

Crypto Trading in Russia

Just over a week after the BoR revealed it was considering launching a crypto platform for professional investors and the wealthy, the bank appears to be moving forward with a fresh proposal to establish a unique but temporary regulatory regime for crypto trading.

More specifically, it identifies these “specially qualified” investors as those with “securities and deposits” of over 100 million rubles (approx. $1.15 million)—or those with revenues that exceed 50 million rubles (approx. $5.78 million).

Notably, the BoR has proposed to include companies as experiment participants as they are already qualified investors under current laws. The bank adds:

“For financial institutions that want to invest in cryptocurrency, the Bank of Russia will establish regulatory requirements, taking into account the level and nature of the risks of such an asset.”

According to the BoR, this new experimental regime aims to increase crypto market transparency and formalize standards “for the provision of services on it.” This includes extending opportunities to more experienced traders who are “ready to take on increased risks.”

Finally, the BoR notes that outside of this proposed regime, there are plans to allow qualified investors access to derivative financial instruments, securities, and other digital financial assets whose value is linked to crypto.

Domestic Trade Ban

With all that said, the BoR announcement also proposes to ban crypto transaction settlements between residents outside of the ERP. This includes setting up penalties for violation of the ban.

This is somewhat vague as Russia allows citizens to own crypto, but it already has legislation that prohibits using crypto to pay for goods and services domestically.

However, this could suggest that the experimental regime could introduce harsher penalties for such activities.