The Russian Bank has submitted proposals to the government for controlled experience allowing a “limited group of Russian investors” to exchange cryptocurrencies, based on a directive of the president of the Vladimir Putin country.
The plan would introduce an experimental legal regime (ELR) lasting three years in which “particularly qualified” investors would be authorized to carry out cryptocurrency transactions, according to a press release from the Central Bank.
To be considered “particularly qualified”, individual investors should have more than 100 million rubles (1.14 million dollars) in investment or an annual income exceeding 50 million rubles ($ 570,000). Institutions recognized as qualified investors could also exchange cryptocurrencies.
The initiative aims to establish standards of service related to crypto and increase market transparency while expanding investment opportunities for “experienced investors arranged to assume higher risks”.
The Russian Bank has repeated its warnings on volatility and risks of the cryptocurrency market, stressing that they are not supported by any jurisdiction. In accordance with its position, the central bank proposed to prohibit cryptocurrency transactions between residents outside the ELR and the application of sanctions for violations.
Beyond the direct trade in cryptocurrencies, the Russian bank plans to allow qualified investors to access derivatives and securities linked to digital assets, provided they do not imply the direct property of cryptocurrencies.
This decision is Russia’s last foray into the cryptocurrency space. Last year, the lower chamber of the country’s federal assembly, the Duma of the State, adopted two bills legalizing the exploitation of cryptocurrencies and providing an experimental regime on cross-border regulations and exchange trade in digital currency.
The country’s central bank is looking to obtain its largest banks to support a digital ruble for commercial and commercial use later this year. The country has been strongly sanctioned by the United States and Europe after its invasion of Ukraine, and the digital currency of the Central Bank is considered a means of bypassing the financial restrictions that it is confronted with.
In 2021, the Russian bank said that the digital currency of the central bank supported by the ruble could be used as a tool against sanctions.
Warning: The information collected for this article has been translated with the use of artificial intelligence.
