The Bank of Russia has proposed allowing Bitcoin, Ether, and Tether's USDT to trade on regulated exchanges. The move follows a law signed by President Vladimir Putin last week that lays the groundwork for legal crypto trading in the country.
What the Bank of Russia proposed
The central bank's proposal would permit trading of the three major cryptocurrencies on exchanges that are already licensed and regulated in Russia. It's a notable shift for the Bank of Russia, which has long pushed for a blanket ban on crypto.
The proposal is now out for public consultation. The central bank hasn't said when it expects to finalize the rules, but the timing suggests it wants to move quickly after Putin's signature.
Russia has been wrestling with how to handle crypto for years. The central bank wanted to ban it outright. The finance ministry wanted to regulate it. Putin's law last week effectively settled the argument in favor of regulation.
Allowing Bitcoin, Ether, and USDT to trade on regulated exchanges gives Russian investors a legal on-ramp. It also gives the state a way to track those trades, which is harder to do when people use unregulated platforms or peer-to-peer deals.
What happens next
The public comment period is the next step. After that, the central bank will need to issue final rules covering how exchanges can list these assets, who can trade them, and what reporting requirements apply.
There are still open questions. The proposal names three specific assets, but it doesn't say whether other cryptocurrencies could be added later. It also doesn't spell out how the exchanges will handle settlement or custody. Those details will matter for the exchanges that want to offer the service.
For now, the direction is clear. Russia is moving toward legal, regulated crypto trading, and the central bank is the one writing the rules.
