Russia restricts retail crypto trading to Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH) and USDT on regulated exchanges, allowing only those three assets for retail trades under the new rules. Non-qualified investors face an annual trading limit of 300,000 rubles per intermediary per year, and the 300,000-ruble limit applies per intermediary rather than across an investor’s total purchases, while qualified investors have no annual cap. Legislation passed in July permits the rules to take effect starting Sept. 1.
Under Russia’s new crypto trading restrictions, a comprehensive regulatory framework has been established that limits retail investors to trading only three cryptocurrencies: Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and USDT. This whitelist of permitted digital currencies is part of the broader effort to regulate the crypto market within the country.
For non-qualified investors, the regulation sets an annual trading cap of 300,000 rubles, which applies individually to each intermediary through which an investor trades, rather than on a collective basis across all intermediaries. In contrast, qualified investors are exempt from any annual transaction caps.
Additionally, within Russia, crypto payments remain fully prohibited under this regulatory setup, ensuring stricter control over the cryptocurrency use. This framework is a result of legislation passed in July and took effect from September 1.
Under the new rules, non-qualified investors face an annual trading limit of 300,000 rubles for transactions conducted through each intermediary, rather than a single cap covering all intermediaries. The initial whitelist of cryptocurrencies permitted for retail trading on regulated exchanges contains only Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and USDT (Tether). Legislation passed in July enables the rules to take effect beginning Sept. 1.
