Russia Sets Nov. 17 Date for Retail Crypto Trading Rules

The Bank of Russia, Russia’s central bank, will open a regulated retail route to Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH) and Tether’s USDt (USDT) on Nov. 17, according to the central bank’s new rules, limiting nonqualified investors to about $3,700 in purchases a year through each intermediary.

What changes on Nov. 17?

The Nov. 17 start gives Russian retail investors an authorized route to acquire the three assets through regulated intermediaries. Qualified investors will face no annual purchase cap, but every investor must pass a test before trading, according to the Bank of Russia framework.

Russia’s rules cover brokers, asset managers and crypto exchange providers. For firms in those categories, the framework sets requirements for entities serving as access points for retail crypto purchases. For investors, the test creates an eligibility condition before any trading.

How large is the investor limit?

The annual limit for nonqualified investors is about $3,700 through each intermediary, according to the central bank. Because the cap applies through each provider, the rule sets a per-intermediary ceiling rather than one stated market-wide limit across all channels.

Qualified investors have no purchase cap, creating two distinct access tiers under the same Nov. 17 framework. For intermediaries, client classification determines the annual purchase limit, while the testing requirement applies to both qualified and nonqualified investors.

Operationally, the intermediary relationship becomes part of the transaction path. A nonqualified investor can buy only within the roughly $3,700 annual allowance through a given provider, while a qualified investor can buy without that cap. Both still need to pass the required test.

What legal authority backs the launch?

President Vladimir Putin signed the enabling law on Aug. 4, and it took effect Sept. 1. The measure established a regulated crypto market under Bank of Russia oversight, providing the statutory basis for the central bank’s Nov. 17 retail opening and its limits.

The central bank’s rules then set the operating perimeter: brokers, asset managers and crypto exchange providers fall within scope, and all investors must clear a test. Qualified status removes the annual cap, not the testing obligation.

When does Moscow Exchange begin trading?

Moscow Exchange, Russia’s largest securities exchange, plans to start crypto trading Dec. 1 through pilot transactions in Bitcoin, Ether and USDt. Its plan covers all three assets named in the Bank of Russia’s retail framework.

The Dec. 1 date sits after the Nov. 17 start of regulated retail access, but the two dates mark different steps. Investors can transact through regulated intermediaries from Nov. 17; the exchange has only stated a Dec. 1 plan for its own pilot.

That separation leaves Moscow Exchange as an early test venue rather than the sole channel under the retail rules. The framework also extends beyond the exchange to brokers, asset managers and crypto exchange providers, so the pilot does not displace the wider intermediary structure.

What remains prohibited?

Russia will prohibit direct peer-to-peer crypto trading beginning July 1, 2027. Transfers from regulated digital accounts to self-custody wallets are already banned, as is using crypto to pay for goods and services.

The existing transfer and payment restrictions define what retail investors can do with acquired assets. A customer cannot move crypto from a regulated digital account to a self-custody wallet under the stated rules, nor use crypto to pay for goods and services.

Together with the future peer-to-peer ban, those restrictions shift permitted activity toward investment transactions handled through regulated channels. They also block the stated transfer path from a regulated account to self-custody, rather than treating self-custody as part of the new retail framework.

The next dated checkpoint is Dec. 1, when Moscow Exchange plans to begin its three-asset pilot, while the broader enforcement change arrives July 1, 2027, when direct peer-to-peer trading must end.