Russia Sets November 22 Start for Exchange Crypto Trading, Subject to Approval

TL;DR: Russian exchanges may begin cryptocurrency trading from November 22 if their trading rules receive the Bank of Russia’s concurrence. The November 11 announcement sets operating requirements for venues. A separate asset-eligibility ordinance takes effect on November 17, so the two dates describe different regulatory steps.

Russia has added another piece to its regulated crypto market framework, with a new ordinance setting the conditions under which exchanges can start trading digital currencies and digital rights. The Bank of Russia’s November 11 notice identifies November 22 as the earliest start under those rules, subject to the regulator agreeing to a venue’s trading arrangements.

That condition matters. An effective date creates a legal opening; it does not show that every exchange is technically ready or that every prospective customer can place an order on the same morning.

The exchange rulebook comes into focus

Under the announcement, exchanges must register trading participants, maintain records of orders and transactions, and monitor trading. They also have to calculate specified prices and report trading information to the central bank using the procedures applied to other assets.

These requirements address the organisation of a market: who participates, how activity is recorded and what the supervisor can inspect. The notice says the Ministry of Justice has registered the ordinance. It does not name a completed launch at a particular exchange or provide a forecast for trading volumes.

Why November 17 is a different milestone

The central bank’s November 6 asset-eligibility announcement set a November 17 effective date for an ordinance covering Bitcoin, Ether and USDT. That notice deals with which assets non-qualified investors may access and the conditions attached to their purchases.

Non-qualified investors face an annual purchase ceiling of 300,000 rubles through a single intermediary. Qualified investors are not subject to that asset-list and purchase-limit restriction. The central bank says investors in both groups must pass the relevant test and familiarise themselves with crypto investment risks before transacting.

Reading the announcements together avoids a misleading single-date headline. One concerns the eligible assets and investor conditions; the other concerns organised trading requirements. Neither removes the need to check when a particular intermediary actually makes a service available.

Domestic permission and platform access differ

A national regulatory opening can exist alongside changes at individual international exchanges. NewsBTC previously reported KuCoin’s withdrawal from Russia and Belarus, where affected users’ account notices determine their closure deadlines.

Those developments should be assessed separately. A domestic venue’s permission does not change another company’s service terms, and an international exchange exit does not by itself tell us when a domestic alternative will be usable.

For a trader, the practical questions include the identity of the intermediary, the assets it supports, how a purchase is funded and where holdings are kept. For an exchange, reliable records and price calculations become part of delivering a functioning service rather than merely announcing one.

A new route does not measure new demand

The market impact depends on participation after services open. An expanded route into Bitcoin could bring additional buyers, but it could also shift activity from one channel to another. Permission alone cannot distinguish those outcomes or establish how much fresh capital will arrive.

There is a longer institutional backdrop. NewsBTC reported VTB’s conditional plans for direct crypto trading in December 2025. That historical proposal helps explain interest in domestic access, but it is not evidence that the bank has launched a service under the latest rules.

The next meaningful evidence from Russia will be venue-specific launch notices, completed onboarding and observable trading activity. Until those arrive, November 22 is best understood as a conditional regulatory starting point. It is a material step toward an organised market, with implementation still determining what customers can actually do.

written by the News Desk and edited by Samuel Rae.