Russian Central Bank Unveils Plan for Bitcoin, Ethereum and USDT Exchange Trading
Following recent legislative approval by President Vladimir Putin, Russia's financial regulatory authority has put forward a proposal to permit trading of Bitcoin, Ethereum and USDT on officially regulated exchange platforms.
The Bank of Russia has developed a comprehensive proposal outlining which crypto assets would be eligible for public exchange trading under the framework of newly established regulations that received approval in recent days.
According to Tuesday's announcement from the Bank of Russia, the preliminary list features Bitcoin, Ether and Tether's stablecoin USDT, with the regulatory body noting that these digital assets satisfy key requirements such as sufficient market capitalization, adequate average daily trading volume and a minimum of five years of historical price data available from international markets.
This regulatory initiative comes on the heels of recently enacted legislation, which received President Vladimir Putin's signature on Aug. 4, granting the Bank of Russia the power to designate which digital currencies are eligible for organized trading activities and to establish the corresponding regulatory framework.
According to the proposed framework, retail investors classified as non-qualified would be limited to purchasing cryptocurrency valued at up to 300,000 Russian rubles ($3,650) annually through each individual intermediary, which may include a broker, crypto exchange service or asset manager. Meanwhile, qualified investors would not be subject to any purchasing restrictions for crypto assets available on exchanges or over-the-counter markets.
Before making transactions, all investors, regardless of their status, will have to pass a test and familiarize themselves with the risks of investing in crypto assets.
Bank of Russia
According to the central bank, these protective measures have been implemented specifically to shield non-qualified investors from the volatile and often unpredictable price movements characteristic of cryptocurrency markets. The regulatory authority has opened a public consultation period for the proposal, with submissions being accepted until Aug. 24.