Russia Sets 300,000-Ruble Annual Crypto Cap per Intermediary

The Central Bank of Russia will cap annual crypto purchases by nonqualified retail investors at 300,000 rubles per intermediary from Nov. 17, according to the bank’s finalized rules.

For a nonqualified buyer, the new route is specific. Choose a brokerage, asset manager or crypto trading service provider. Pass the required test. Keep annual purchases through that provider within 300,000 rubles. The limit applies separately to each intermediary.

The rules allow those financial intermediaries to offer retail trading in Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH) and Tether (USDT) beginning Nov. 17. The bank’s rule reads: "Nonqualified customers may buy up to 300,000 rubles’ worth of crypto through each intermediary each year."

Who qualifies for the limit?

A customer’s investor status determines whether the 300,000-ruble ceiling applies.

• Nonqualified investors face the annual cap and must pass the test before trading.
• Qualified investors have no purchase ceiling, but they also must pass the test.
• Brokerages, asset managers and crypto trading service providers may offer the retail service.

The distinction is narrow. Qualification removes a monetary ceiling; it does not create an exemption from testing. Conversely, passing the test does not turn a nonqualified investor into a qualified one or lift the provider-specific cap.

What does this change for retail investors?

It changes how much nonqualified investors can buy through each provider, not whether eligible intermediaries can offer the three named assets. The route remains available after the test, with purchases governed by an annual monetary limit.

The provider-by-provider structure matters. The 300,000-ruble cap is not a single market-wide ceiling shared across every firm a customer uses. Each intermediary carries its own annual limit. At the same time, the framework does not cap qualified investors’ purchases or remove their testing requirement.

For users, that creates two separate controls to understand before placing an order: investor status and intermediary choice. A qualified user has no annual purchase ceiling at an eligible provider, but can trade only after passing the test. A nonqualified user can trade only within the annual cap at each provider.

For nonqualified investors, access carries two separate requirements: annual purchases must remain within 300,000 rubles at each firm, and the investor must pass the test before trading.

Trading moves onto intermediary rails

The market timetable starts with access through financial intermediaries on Nov. 17. The Moscow Exchange plans to begin crypto trading Dec. 1, after the rules take effect. That creates a scheduled exchange-based trading window before longer-term restrictions on direct individual transactions.

Once the rules activate, brokerages, asset managers and crypto trading service providers can serve as the operational gateways for retail access to the three designated assets.

The named assets in the retail framework are Bitcoin, Ether and Tether. Those are the three identified for the service. Every investor must clear the test, regardless of status or provider, and only nonqualified investors carry the purchase ceiling. Intermediaries therefore have to identify investor status before trading and apply the cap where it applies.

Direct individual trades face a deadline

Russia will prohibit direct cryptocurrency trades between individuals beginning July 1, 2027, according to the rule schedule. The deadline targets direct person-to-person dealing rather than purchases made through an eligible intermediary. Intermediary-based retail access begins much earlier, while the Moscow Exchange’s Dec. 1 trading plan supplies a second dated milestone.

That sequence narrows how the market is expected to operate. The framework routes retail access through intermediaries subject to the investor test, while direct bilateral crypto trades face a 2027 cutoff.

The Moscow Exchange date is not the end of all crypto activity. The July 2027 provision covers cryptocurrency trades generally, not one named token. It sets a market-structure deadline for direct trades between individuals.

The next concrete checkpoint is Nov. 17, when the test and cap framework takes effect; the Moscow Exchange plans to begin crypto trading Dec. 1, and Russia will prohibit direct individual crypto trades on July 1, 2027.