Russia’s central bank to confirm BTC, ETH and USDT for local traders

Ordinary Russians will be permitted to purchase just three cryptocurrencies – BTC, ETH and USDT – once that becomes legal in their country.

Confirming the shortlist of approved coins, those with the largest market cap, the monetary authority in Moscow made it clear it’s against adding more.

Russia greenlights major cryptocurrencies for trading

The Russian government intends to limit the cryptocurrencies available to its citizens to only the three most liquid digital assets.

Non-professional investors will be allowed to trade Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and Tether’s dollar-pegged stablecoin USDT.

The exact list of pre-approved coins, first hinted about a month ago, was confirmed by a top executive of the Central Bank of Russia (CBR).

The financial authority does not plan to expand it for the time being or increase applicable investment limits, its deputy governor told RBC Radio.

Vladimir Chistyukhin was referring to the time after the implementation of Russia’s upcoming law “On Digital Currency and Digital Rights.”

The legislation, which passed its first parliamentary hurdle in April, must be adopted and come into force by July 1, 2026.

In an interview, the First Deputy Chairman noted that ahead of the bill’s second reading, the CBR had indicated it could add more coins, but elaborated:

“However, if we consider the initial period after the law enters into force, we do not intend to expand the scope beyond the three currencies … Bitcoin, Ethereum, and USDT.”

He also stressed that the Bank of Russia continues to see cryptocurrency as a volatile instrument that carries various risks, including that of funds being blocked, as in the case with Tether.

According to the draft crypto law, only the cryptocurrencies that meet a set of strict criteria will be admitted to the regulated Russian market for non-qualified investors.

These include having a market cap exceeding 5 trillion rubles on average for the past two years (more than $60 billion), an average daily trading volume over 1 trillion rubles for the same period, and a trading history of at least five years prior to admission.

This will result in a pretty short list, which may include only leading cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana (SOL), BNB, and TRON, among a few others, Russian media commented earlier.

Non-dollar stablecoins may be added in the future

Also quoted by the leading Russian crypto news outlet Bits.media, Chistyukhin pointed out that a future expansion will cover primarily domestic non-dollar stablecoins, so that they are “not discriminated against foreign ones.”

He remarked this would make sense only if more of them emerge, noting: “We have one company that has already issued a token for international settlements and is using it. We’ll see how this develops. Perhaps we’ll expand it. But not right away.”

While the banker did not name it explicitly, a ruble-pegged stablecoin called A7A5, created by the Russian payments platform A7 and currently issued by the Kyrgyzstan-based entity Old Vector, has become the largest non-dollar stablecoin over the past year.

According to recent research by the blockchain security firm CertiK, the coin has accounted for over $110 billion in transactions since its launch early last year. Russia recognized it as a digital financial asset that can be used in foreign trade to bypass financial restrictions imposed over the war in Ukraine.

These transactions are often processed by sanctioned entities such as the Kyrgyz-registered crypto trading platform Grinex, which succeeded the Russian exchange Garantex, shut down in a U.S.-led operation in March 2025, when Tether froze $27 million worth of USDT in its wallets.

Speaking to RBC, Vladimir Chistyukhin also stated he sees no need to increase the previously announced crypto investment limit for Russian citizens, as it will mitigate potential losses. Non-qualified investors will be able to acquire no more than 300,000 rubles’ worth of digital assets annually, or around $4,000.

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