Russia Opens Bitcoin Trading, but Its Biggest Exchange Is Under US Sanctions

Four years ago, Russia’s central bank wanted crypto exchanges banned. From Nov. 22, it will let them trade Bitcoin. Russia’s biggest exchange, the Moscow Exchange, sits on a US sanctions list.

That matters for Russian savers. One of the three coins they can buy, Tether (USDT), tracks the US dollar. Its issuer follows US sanctions when it freezes wallets.

What Russians Can Buy, and How Much

In January 2022, the Bank of Russia proposed banning crypto exchanges outright.

Now it writes their rules under Russia’s new crypto law. Exchanges need its approval first and must report every trade, TASS reported.

Russian Central Bank: Exchanges May Conduct Crypto Trading from November 22, Subject to Prior Approval of Trading Rules According to TASS, the Bank of Russia said Russian exchanges may begin offering cryptocurrency trading from November 22, 2026, provided they first agree on… pic.twitter.com/txoYyq5vfL

— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) November 11, 2026

The menu is short. Only Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and USDT made the cut. A coin needs an average market value of about $60 billion over two years.

Ordinary buyers can spend 300,000 rubles, about $3,630, a year. They must pass a test first.

VTB plans to open this month. Sberbank and the Moscow Exchange aim for Dec. 1, Interfax reported.

Why Washington Still Holds a Key

The US Treasury sanctioned the Moscow Exchange and its clearing house in June 2024. Sberbank has faced full US sanctions since April 2022.

Tether has frozen Russian-linked money before. In March 2025, it locked $23 million tied to Garantex, a sanctioned Russian exchange, while helping the US Secret Service.

Tether’s chief executive spelled out that power in the company’s statement on the freeze.

“Tether’s ability to track transactions and freeze USDt linked to illicit activity sets it apart…” said Ardoino.

The warning now comes from inside Russia too. Petr Fradkov, who chairs lender PSB, warned in August that Tether can block tokens at any address.

Still, the same report found no public record of mass freezes of small Russian wallets.

Traders fear the sanctions label could push Moscow prices below global ones.

The exits abroad keep closing. KuCoin became the third major exchange to restrict users in Russia and Belarus within two weeks.

The Moscow Exchange’s crypto trades will clear through the same clearing house America has blacklisted.