Russia Draft Names Bitcoin, Ether and USDT for Public Trading

Bank of Russia Draft Limits Public Crypto Trading to Three Assets

The proposed list is the new fact. On its last page, the draft directive identifies “Bitcoin,” “Ethereum” and “Tether USDT” in its appendix and no other digital currencies.

The regulator is not declaring those three assets risk-free or introducing a general crypto-payment regime. Instead, it is defining what an organized trading operator would be allowed to admit to public trading under Russia’s new digital-currency law.

That distinction changes the earlier picture. Our August 6 coverage reported the September 1 market launch, the retail knowledge test and the ₽300,000 cap, but the Bank of Russia had not then named the “most liquid” assets. The new document supplies that list, giving retail access a specific proposed perimeter rather than an open-ended category.

The consultation page says comments on this directive are accepted from Aug. 11 through Aug. 24. The draft itself says it would enter into force 10 days after official publication, so the public-comment version should not be described as already effective.

Two-Year Tests Put Bitcoin, Ether and USDT on the Proposed List

The draft specifies how the Bank of Russia would calculate eligibility metrics. It calls for the arithmetic average of daily market-capitalization figures over the two calendar years before an asset’s inclusion, using data from a foreign trading organizer named in the law.

It applies the same two-year lookback to average daily trading volume and to the foreign venue’s aggregate digital-currency trading volume. The approach makes the initial list a screen built around established scale and trading history rather than a ranking based on a single day’s market move.

The note says Bitcoin, Ethereum and USDT meet the statutory conditions, but it does not explain why any particular fourth asset failed, give the underlying venue-by-venue calculations, or say when the list might expand. Those omissions matter because a proposed list of three is not a permanent cap written into the law.

USDT’s presence is also notable. The July law said the same requirements for cryptocurrencies would apply to foreign stablecoins; the new appendix identifies Tether’s dollar-linked token alongside Bitcoin and Ether. It does not identify a Russian ruble stablecoin or state that a stablecoin can be used to pay domestic merchants.

Russia is taking a more prescriptive route than the UK’s proposed fund rules, which would permit limited crypto ETN exposure inside certain retail funds rather than name a small public-trading token list. Both approaches still focus on what regulated intermediaries may offer, not an endorsement of an asset’s price or suitability.

September Launch Still Needs Licensed Venues and Final Rules

Russia’s law is scheduled to take effect Sept. 1, with a transition period through July 1, 2027 for participants to obtain licenses and align their operations. The Bank of Russia says the planned infrastructure includes crypto exchanges, digital depositories, brokers and management companies, but it has not identified a live exchange that will list the three assets on day one.

For non-qualified investors, the headline asset list does not remove the other safeguards. The central bank says they must pass a test and can purchase no more than ₽300,000 of eligible cryptocurrency in a calendar year through one broker. Qualified investors also face a test but do not have the same amount limit under the law’s earlier announcement.

Domestic crypto payments remain prohibited. Exporters and importers may use cryptocurrency for cross-border payments without stated limits, creating a separate lane from the proposed public-trading list. That divide remains important as the European Union’s measures restrict services tied to Russia, as covered in our report on the EU’s crypto-platform ban.

The Crypto Fear and Greed Index stood at 27, or Fear, in the latest reading. It does not assess the Russian rule or indicate whether the three assets will trade on a new venue, but it provides a cautious backdrop to a regulatory step with no reported immediate price shock.

The next confirmed checkpoints are the end of consultation on Aug. 24, the directive’s final publication, and disclosures from licensed Russian intermediaries about their launch plans. Until then, the precise development is a draft that names three assets for proposed public trading, not an active three-token market or a reversal of Russia’s domestic crypto-payment ban.