Bank of Russia Lists Bitcoin, Ethereum and USDT for Non-Qualified Investors From 17 November

On 6 November 2026 the Bank of Russia said it has determined the list of cryptoassets available to non-qualified investors: Bitcoin, Ethereum Ether and USD Tether. The corresponding Bank of Russia indication enters into force on 17 November 2026; from that date exchanges may admit these assets to public circulation.

The operative instrument is Bank of Russia Indication No. 7441-U of 11 September 2026, registered by the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation on 30 October 2026 under registration No. 88991 and published as an official PDF on the Bank of Russia's website. The decision sits under Federal Law No. 282-FZ of 4 August 2026 on Digital Currencies and Digital Rights, whose main provisions, according to Moscow Exchange, took effect from 1 September 2026. An August 2026 Bank of Russia consultation draft had already named the same three assets and the same 300,000-rouble annual purchase limit for non-qualified investors; the 6 November release confirms those parameters as the operative list ahead of the 17 November start date.

What the List Covers and the Purchase Limits

According to the Bank of Russia press release of 6 November 2026, only the most liquid assets that meet statutory criteria were included. Selection took into account market capitalisation, average daily trading volume, and at least five years of pricing history on foreign venues. The central bank said that approach is aimed at reducing risks for non-qualified investors when they invest in cryptoassets.

The registered text of Indication No. 7441-U lists Bitcoin (BTC/XBT) and Ethereum Ether (ETH) as digital currencies for admission to organised public trading, and lists USD Tether (USDT) as a foreign digital instrument on the same list. Non-qualified investors may buy the listed cryptoassets through different intermediaries — a broker, an asset manager or a crypto exchanger — on the exchange market or over the counter. The limit on purchases through one intermediary is not more than 300,000 roubles per calendar year. Qualified investors may access any cryptoassets without limits.

Before a deal, every investor, regardless of status, must pass testing and review the risks of investing in cryptoassets. The August 2026 consultation announcement had set out the same three-asset list, the same 300,000-rouble per-intermediary annual limit, and the same pre-deal testing and risk-disclosure requirement while the draft indication was open for comments until 24 August 2026.

Who Is Affected and How Access Works

The direct addressees of the new list are exchanges that may admit Bitcoin, Ethereum Ether and USD Tether to public circulation from 17 November 2026, and the intermediaries through which non-qualified investors may buy — brokers, asset managers and crypto exchangers — subject to the annual 300,000-rouble cap per intermediary. Qualified investors are not subject to that purchase limit and may buy any cryptoassets.

Indication No. 7441-U of 11 September 2026, signed by Governor Elvira Nabiullina and grounded in the Federal Law No. 282-FZ provisions cited in the registered PDF (including part 4 of article 1 and the relevant paragraphs of article 31), sets the list a trading organiser may admit to public circulation on organised trading and the rules for the aggregate monetary value of digital currencies acquired through a broker in a calendar year for a resident who is not a qualified investor. The Ministry of Justice registered the indication on 30 October 2026 under registration No. 88991; the official PDF is published on cbr.ru. The Bank of Russia's 6 November 2026 press release remains the source for the calendar force date of 17 November 2026 and for the broker, asset-manager and crypto-exchanger plus OTC framing of how non-qualified investors may buy.

The list and intermediary rules sit alongside the wider 282-FZ market framework, under which crypto exchange organisations and digital depositories on the central bank's registers must join a self-regulatory organisation. On 29 October 2026 the Bank of Russia entered the first such SRO for digital depositories and digital-currency exchange organisations into its unified register of financial-market SROs.

Moscow Exchange Plans and What Comes Next

Separately, on 2 November 2026 Moscow Exchange said that from 1 December 2026 it plans to give financial-market participants the ability to trade digital currencies, describing it as Russia's first organised digital-currency market under Federal Law No. 282-FZ. Main provisions of that law, the exchange said, took effect from 1 September 2026, with some norms applying from July and September 2027.

At the first stage the exchange expects pilot deals, with participants connecting as they are ready. Trading is to use stock-market technology and include deals in the single clearing of the National Clearing Centre (NCC). The session schedule matches the equity market — 06:50 to 23:50 Moscow time. The initial instrument list is to include BTC, ETH and USDT in non-addressed and addressed modes, with TOD and TOM settlement and swap liquidity tools available from 1 December. The exchange said that under the legislation non-qualified investors may buy digital currency after testing for not more than 300,000 roubles per year through one broker, matching the central bank's published limit.

Immediate practical steps sit with trading organisers that may admit the three listed assets from 17 November, with brokers, managers and crypto exchangers that will apply the non-qualified annual limit and pre-deal testing, and with Moscow Exchange's planned 1 December organised-market launch for the same three instruments. The next primary signals to watch are updates to Bank of Russia registers of digital-currency market participants and further exchange announcements on the pilot and participant onboarding.