Russia is incorporating crypto trading, custody, and settlement into a licensed system, with the central bank and major banks advancing access simultaneously. The framework effective from September 1 requires trading to occur on licensed exchanges, brokers, asset management, and custodians, while using cryptocurrencies for domestic payments remains prohibited.

The central bank's draft proposes to set the risk limit for banks' own crypto and linked instruments at 1% of capital, with indicators for individual banks at N31 and consolidated groups at N32. This covers holdings, derivatives, loans, and bonds, with some low-risk positions able to offset, and some risk weights proposed at 1250%. The draft is planned for publication in the fourth quarter, taking effect ten days after publication, and reporting starting January 2027.

The retail channel is being narrowed. Non-qualified investors can purchase up to approximately 300,000 rubles per year through a single intermediary; the scope for qualified investors is broader. Cryptocurrencies eligible for public trading must meet a two-year average threshold: a market cap exceeding 5 trillion rubles and daily trading volume exceeding 1 trillion rubles. Unregistered entities can operate until July 1, 2027, after which they must be listed with the central bank, with a minimum capital requirement of about 15 million rubles.

The largest bank, Sberbank, plans to launch trading infrastructure and digital custody by December 1, with most transfers recorded off-chain, and wallets handling deposits and transfers. The bank has already piloted Bitcoin-linked structured products and loans secured by miners. Alfa-Bank is testing qualified investor trading in a limited scope within its brokerage application. VTB had previously proposed providing spot trading access to ultra-high-net-worth clients.

The digital ruble was opened for ordinary payments on the same day, with 12 systemically important banks required to support account opening and payments. Crypto is classified as a tradable foreign currency asset, with settlements still needing to go through licensed intermediaries. While access is being expanded, risks are locked within 1% of bank capital.

In market mechanisms, this represents a regulatory opening. Buy orders are bets on licensed Russian banks' custody, qualified investor quotas, and cross-border settlement pilots; sell orders come from unlicensed exchanges and domestic payment scenarios. Funds are shifting from over-the-counter to custody and bank brokerage. Beneficiaries are banks like Sberbank that already have licenses and clients; those under pressure are smaller coins that cannot meet liquidity thresholds and unregistered traders.

Source: Public Information