What is behind Russia giving the green light to Crypto?

Written by: KarenZ, Foresight News

A country that was discussing proposals to ban cryptocurrency trading and mining four years ago is now preparing to allow Bitcoin, Ethereum, and USDT to be traded on its domestic exchanges.

This country is Russia.

On November 11, 2026, the Central Bank of Russia officially released regulations for cryptocurrency trading, allowing exchanges to start cryptocurrency trading from November 22, upon receiving approval from regulatory authorities.

A few days earlier, the central bank had just confirmed the first batch of cryptocurrency assets for retail investors: BTC, ETH, and USDT. The relevant regulations will take effect on November 17.

Russia's largest exchange, the Moscow Exchange, also plans to launch cryptocurrency trading on December 1. Additionally, one of Russia's largest banks, Sberbank, has obtained regulatory approval to conduct related business.

Interestingly, while the Central Bank of Russia has relaxed restrictions on cryptocurrency trading, it has not changed its basic assessment of the associated risks.

In a regulatory plan published in December 2025, the Central Bank of Russia clearly stated that it still views crypto assets as high-risk instruments, citing a lack of clear issuers and jurisdictional guarantees, significant price volatility, and sanctions risks.

Even in the latest regulations, the Central Bank requires all investors to take relevant tests before trading to understand the risks associated with cryptocurrency investments. At the same time, Russia still prohibits the use of cryptocurrencies for domestic payments for goods and services.

If the risks have not disappeared, why has Russia still decided to open the door to Crypto?

The answer lies not only in the cryptocurrency market itself but also in the real pressure from Western financial sanctions and cross-border trade settlement, as well as in a large cryptocurrency trading market that Russia can no longer ignore.

To understand this policy shift, it is worth looking at what Russia has opened up and what restrictions it has retained.

BTC, ETH, and USDT are approved for trading; Russian retail investors can finally enter the market

On November 6, 2026, the Central Bank of Russia announced the first batch of cryptocurrency assets available for non-qualified investors: Bitcoin, the Ethereum native token ETH, and the US dollar stablecoin USDT issued by Tether.

According to the regulations, starting from November 17, the aforementioned assets can be publicly traded on exchanges. Ordinary investors can purchase them through brokers, asset management institutions, or cryptocurrency exchange institutions, either on the exchange or in the over-the-counter markets.

However, this does not mean that ordinary investors can participate in Crypto trading without limits.

According to the new rules, non-qualified investors can purchase up to 300,000 rubles (approximately 24,182 yuan) worth of cryptocurrency annually through a single intermediary. Qualified investors are exempt from this purchase limit.

No matter which category investors belong to, they must pass relevant tests and understand the risks of investing in crypto assets before trading.

Why are the first batch of assets limited to BTC, ETH, and USDT?

The screening criteria given by the Central Bank of Russia include market capitalization, daily trading volume, and at least five years of price records in foreign trading markets. In other words, the regulatory body gives priority to assets with larger market sizes, better liquidity, and longer trading histories.

The Moscow Exchange and Sberbank enter the market; who will compete for the Russian Crypto market?

If allowing retail investors to trade BTC, ETH, and USDT represents an expansion of the Russian crypto market, then the entry of traditional financial institutions could change the entire market's organization.

On September 1, 2026, the main provisions of Russia's "Digital Currency and Digital Rights Law" officially took effect, establishing a regulatory framework for cryptocurrency trading, exchange, custody, and related intermediary services.

On October 6, the Central Bank of Russia announced that the first five digital custody institutions and four cryptocurrency exchange institutions had entered the regulatory registry.

The first five digital custody institutions include Sberbank, VTB Bank, Voltari (a Russian digital financial asset infrastructure company), Atomyze (under T-Technologies), and Cloud Infrastructure.

VTB Bank also entered the list of cryptocurrency exchange institutions. The other three cryptocurrency exchange institutions include VTB Bank, T-Invest Lab (under T-Technologies), and Russian cryptocurrency exchange service Zefir and Sistema-Crypto. Subsequently, Sberbank also entered the cryptocurrency exchange registry on October 12.

It is important to note that the initial list of institutions is not a complete record of all market participants. As of November 6, the registry of Russian digital custody institutions has grown to nine, while the registry of cryptocurrency exchange institutions has reached 25.

Institutions like Sberbank and VTB Bank already have a vast customer base, financial product sales channels, and compliance management systems. As related businesses gradually open up, Russian investors will be able to participate in cryptocurrency trading through familiar financial institutions, rather than relying entirely on foreign platforms.

The exchanges are also keen not to miss out on this new business opportunity.

The Moscow Exchange plans to launch cryptocurrency trading on December 1, initially testing related business with professional market participants and completing asset recording and settlement arrangements through partnered digital custody institutions.

On November 11, the Central Bank of Russia further clarified specific requirements for exchanges engaging in crypto business, including registering trading participants, maintaining order and transaction records, monitoring trading activities, and reporting trading situations to regulatory authorities.

The other side of open trading: What restrictions apply to P2P and personal wallets?

The opening of trading channels does not mean that Russia is relaxing all restrictions on the circulation of cryptocurrencies.

According to the official explanation from the Central Bank of Russia, the transitional arrangements for direct cryptocurrency P2P trading between individuals allowed under current law will end on July 1, 2027.

After that, residents engaging in cryptocurrency trading, unless they are specific market operational entities, will generally need to conduct transactions through legally recognized institutions or transact directly with these institutions.

Furthermore, Russia has also set restrictions on the transfer of cryptocurrency assets in digital accounts, including prohibiting individuals from transferring cryptocurrency assets from their digital accounts to their non-custodial wallets and forbidding direct transfers of assets between individuals using addresses identified by digital custody institutions.

Of course, these regulations target specific operations as defined by law and should not be understood as a total ban on individuals holding non-custodial wallets.

This also reveals another aspect of Russia's cryptocurrency legalization. In the past, users could complete a large number of transactions directly on foreign platforms or between individuals; in the future, Russia hopes for more transactions to be conducted through registered institutions that have identity verification and transaction records.

Another noteworthy exception in Russia's new system is that exporters and importers can use cryptocurrencies for cross-border settlements under compliance with relevant laws, including using various types of wallets directly.

It is clear that Russia has adopted different regulatory arrangements for domestic investment transactions and cross-border trade settlements.

Daily trading of 50 billion rubles: Beyond sanctions, there are more realistic reasons

Why did Russia decide to change its previously restrictive stance on cryptocurrencies?

Western financial sanctions are an unavoidable backdrop, but they do not explain the entirety of the decision.

In February 2026, according to CoinDesk, Ivan Chebeskov, the Deputy Minister of Finance of Russia, disclosed a set of figures at the Alfa Talk conference: he estimated that the daily trading volume of cryptocurrencies in Russia was around 50 billion rubles (approximately 650 million dollars at that time), with an annual trading volume exceeding 1 trillion rubles (approximately 130 billion dollars at that time).

For Russian regulatory authorities, completely banning trading may not eliminate demand and may actually drive a significant amount of trading outside the regulatory framework.

In the absence of regulated intermediaries, it becomes more difficult for the government to grasp the trading scale, supervise the sources of funds, and investigate illegal activities.

Thus, bringing trading into banks, exchanges, and digital custody institutions can not only create new revenue streams for the traditional financial industry but also allow regulatory authorities to have clearer targets for supervision.

This logic aligns with the statements made by the Central Bank of Russia in the 2025 experimental regulatory proposal concerning cryptocurrency trading when it clearly stated that the objectives of the relevant system included improving market transparency, establishing service standards, and expanding opportunities for qualified investors to participate in investments.

However, Russia faces another practical pressure: cross-border trade.

After the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict in 2022, Russia faced extensive Western financial sanctions. In June 2024, the U.S. imposed sanctions on financial infrastructures such as the Moscow Exchange.

Restrictions on traditional banking payment channels have led some Russian enterprises to seek alternative settlement methods.

In July 2024, the State Duma of Russia passed relevant legislation allowing Russian import and export enterprises to use cryptocurrencies for foreign trade settlements within an experimental legal framework.

This policy path aimed at ordinary investors, is distinct but related to the earlier one that primarily addressed cross-border settlement needs, while the latter focuses on creating a regulated domestic cryptocurrency market.

Cryptocurrencies have indeed started entering some Russian trade settlement practices.

In March 2025, Reuters quoted four individuals with direct knowledge, reporting that some Russian oil companies used crypto assets like BTC, ETH, and USDT in oil trades with China and India, facilitating currency conversion involving RMB, Rupees, and Rubles.

However, the report also noted that cryptocurrencies still accounted for a small proportion of overall oil trades in Russia at that time, showing a growing trend.

This indicates that while cryptocurrencies can provide new channels for some cross-border fund transfers, they do not automatically resolve all of Russia's international payment issues.

Especially regarding USDT. Allowing Russian residents to legally purchase USDT does not mean that Russian enterprises can use USDT for international settlements without restrictions.

Russia has even started to explore the possibility of reducing reliance on dollar stablecoins.

In June 2026, the Central Bank of Russia released a consultation report on ruble stablecoins, discussing the necessity of establishing a dedicated legal framework.

The Central Bank of Russia pointed out that the global stablecoin market is dominated by dollar stablecoins, while more and more countries are researching local currency stablecoins to maintain monetary sovereignty. However, Russia has not yet formed a mature ruble stablecoin market. The Central Bank's document only discusses issues such as issuance, redemption, reserve assets, and issuer requirements, and does not announce the formal launch of a ruble stablecoin.

Putting all these changes together, we can see that Russia's demand for Crypto extends beyond mere investment.

On one hand, a vast domestic trading market requires regulation and standardization; on the other hand, increasing financial sanctions complicate international settlements, prompting Russia to explore funding flow methods outside traditional banking channels.

However, these two demands do not completely align.

Cross-border settlements require broad international liquidity and recognition of trading counterparties, while domestic regulation emphasizes identity verification, compliant intermediaries, and controls over fund flows.

The upcoming challenge for Russia is not just establishing a legal trading market but also balancing strict regulation with actual market demands.

Over four years, Russia has shifted from opposition to acceptance

Looking back at the policy changes in Russia over the past four years, one can see that this shift did not happen suddenly.

In January 2022, the Central Bank of Russia released a consultation report titled "Cryptocurrency: Trends, Risks, and Regulation."

The report held a strong stance against cryptocurrencies, suggesting that the proliferation of cryptocurrencies could endanger residents' wealth, financial stability, and economic security, proposing restrictions on the circulation of cryptocurrencies within Russia, organization of trading activities, and mining.

It is important to emphasize that what was proposed at that time were regulatory recommendations and did not imply that Russia had completely banned individuals from holding or trading cryptocurrencies.

However, this document sufficiently reflected the central bank's stance at that time: cryptocurrencies were seen more as a source of risk that needed to be restricted rather than as a financial market that should be actively developed.

Subsequently, Russia's policies began to gradually loosen.

In 2024, Russia passed legislation that provided a basis for cryptocurrency cross-border settlements under specific experimental frameworks and established a regulatory system for mining.

However, at that time, Russia's main concern was still focused on the use of cryptocurrencies in international trade rather than on whether ordinary investors could legally purchase Bitcoin.

By March 2025, the Central Bank of Russia proposed a three-year experimental regulatory plan for cryptocurrency trading based on presidential instructions, allowing a small number of "especially qualified investors" to participate.

This threshold was quite high.

According to the initial plan, individual investors needed to have securities and deposits exceeding 100 million rubles (an approximate value at that time), and an income of over 50 million rubles in the previous year to potentially qualify.

In other words, the policy thinking at that time was to first let a very small number of investors with higher risk tolerance into the market.

However, merely nine months later, the policy took another step forward.

In December 2025, the Central Bank of Russia published a more systematic market regulation plan, explicitly proposing to allow both ordinary and qualified investors to purchase crypto assets, albeit with differential access rules.

On July 21, 2026, the State Duma of Russia passed the cryptocurrency regulation bill. On August 4, Putin signed Federal Law No. 282-FZ, which mainly stipulates that it will take effect from September 1.

Subsequently, the first batch of digital custody and exchange institutions entered the market, banks and exchanges began preparing to launch related businesses, and the initial list of crypto assets available for ordinary investors was finalized.

From initially discussing restrictions on trading and mining to allowing cross-border settlements, then trial efforts for high-net-worth investors, and finally establishing a legal trading system for ordinary investors, Russia's policies have undergone substantial changes.

Yet, one question has run through the entire process of policy change: the Central Bank of Russia has never accepted cryptocurrencies as domestic payment tools.

In fact, as early as December 2024, Elvira Nabiullina, the Governor of the Central Bank of Russia, stated in a public speech that the bank supports promoting cryptocurrency cross-border settlement projects but opposes their use for payment activities within Russia.

This attitude has persisted to this day.

This means that Russia's policy shift is not a transition from total opposition to full acceptance of Crypto but rather a gradual shift from limiting its circulation and trading to allowing it to play a specific role within a regulated financial system.

For investors, this means gaining more legal trading channels; for traditional financial institutions, it represents a new business market; and for regulatory authorities, it implies that previously difficult-to-supervise trading activities now have the opportunity to be included in the existing financial regulatory framework.

For the Crypto industry, Russia's changes carry another significance. This reflects that when the cryptocurrency market has formed a sufficient scale and started to connect with actual financial demands, a simple restriction may not be the only choice that regulatory authorities are willing to maintain in the long term.

Of course, the establishment of the law does not mean that the market has matured. Whether Russia's new system can attract users who were originally trading on foreign platforms, whether exchanges can provide sufficient liquidity, whether strict intermediary management will affect market activity, and whether the funding settlement issues under the sanctions environment can be alleviated, all remain to be observed.