Russia Clears Crypto Exchange Trading, Pending Central Bank Sign-Off

Russian exchanges may start organized crypto trading from Nov. 22, the Bank of Russia said Wednesday, but only after the central bank agrees to each venue's trading rules. The Justice Ministry has registered the ordinance that sets the requirements.

The central bank's notice doesn't say whether any exchange has cleared that review yet.

What exchanges have to do

Under the ordinance, an exchange must register everyone who trades through it, such as brokers, trust managers and central counterparties (the clearing firms that stand between buyer and seller). It must keep registers of orders and deals, monitor trading and publish current, weighted-average, market and closing prices. It reports results to the central bank the same way it already does for stocks and bonds, the notice says. Russian news site Lenta.ru reported the same terms.

Retail buyers get three coins and a cap

A separate ordinance, announced Nov. 6 and taking effect Nov. 17, lists what ordinary investors can buy: bitcoin, ether and Tether's USDT, the Bank of Russia said. They can buy through brokers, trust managers or registered crypto exchange offices, up to 300,000 rubles a year through any one intermediary. Qualified investors face no list and no cap. Everyone has to pass a test and read a risk disclosure first.

The central bank said it picked the three by market value, average daily volume and at least five years of price history on foreign exchanges. Using crypto to pay for goods and services inside Russia remains banned, Bitcoin Magazine and Crypto Briefing reported.

Moscow Exchange is aiming for Dec. 1

Moscow Exchange, the country's largest trading venue, plans a pilot for bitcoin, ether and USDT trading from Dec. 1, both outlets reported. The U.S. Treasury sanctioned Moscow Exchange and its clearing house in June 2024. The legal base is Federal Law No. 282-FZ on digital currencies, in force since Sept. 1, according to Lenta.ru.

In our opinion: the question worth chasing is which exchange gets its rules approved first, and whether that happens before Moscow Exchange's Dec. 1 pilot. A 300,000-ruble yearly cap per intermediary keeps retail buying small by design. Watch Nov. 17, when the three-coin list takes effect.