Bank of Russia Sets Nov. 17 Date for Retail Bitcoin, Ether, USDT Rules
The Bank of Russia set Nov. 17 as the effective date for rules opening Bitcoin, Ether and USDT to retail investors, capped at 300,000 rubles a year per intermediary with mandatory testing. Moscow Exchange plans pilot trading from Dec. 1.
Russian retail investors are getting a regulated route into Bitcoin, Ether and Tether's USDT. It comes with a hard ceiling: purchases capped at 300,000 rubles a year per intermediary. The Bank of Russia has set Nov. 17, 2026, as the effective date for rules that let exchanges admit the three assets to public trading, opening a channel for non-qualified (retail) investors.
In its Nov. 6 announcement, the regulator said those investors would be able to buy through brokers, investment managers or crypto exchange businesses, on exchanges or over the counter. Qualified investors get access to cryptoassets without the purchase restrictions applied to retail buyers.
How the cap works
The central bank's directive defines the limit as the ruble acquisition cost of crypto bought through a given broker in a calendar year. It caps purchases, not the market value of holdings, so a position that appreciates past 300,000 rubles does not breach it. The directive lists Bitcoin and Ether, and separately includes USDT as a foreign digital instrument subject to the framework.
All investors, qualified or not, must pass testing and review the risks before trading.
Narrow asset list
According to the central bank, the approved list contains only the most liquid digital assets, selected under criteria set out in legislation: market capitalization, average daily trading volume and at least five years of pricing data from international exchanges. Those requirements are meant to reduce risk for retail participants by keeping out assets with weaker liquidity and shorter trading histories.
Rule is not a launch
The Nov. 17 date permits admission to trading. It does not mean a market opens that day.
Moscow Exchange plans to begin its crypto market on Dec. 1, initially with pilot transactions and participants joining as they become ready. Its initial instruments will include BTC, ETH and USDT, built on its stock-market technology with clearing through the National Clearing Centre. It plans same-day and next-day settlement, with swaps available from Dec. 1.
Provider authorization runs on a separate track. The central bank distinguishes licensed brokers from crypto exchange businesses, which must be entered in its register. It entered Ingo Bank in the crypto exchange-business register on Oct. 26 and Tokens - Digital Investments in the digital-depository register on Oct. 14. Those decisions authorize the firms' activities; they do not amount to a common retail-service launch on Nov. 17.
Context
The design is a tightly fenced retail entry: a small annual allowance, mandatory testing and three assets, with a licensed intermediary standing between retail buyers and the market. Other central banks are at different points on crypto policy. The Bank of Korea, for instance, plans a forex law revision to regulate stablecoins as payment instruments, while Ukraine's central bank has declined to back its draft crypto bill. In Russia, with Moscow Exchange onboarding participants as they become ready, practical access will depend on how quickly intermediaries come online after the rules take effect.
