Russia Plans Three-Year Crypto Trading Pilot for Wealthy Investors

The Bank of Russia has submitted proposals to the government to launch a controlled pilot project that would allow a “limited group of Russian investors” to engage in cryptocurrency trading. This initiative follows a directive from President Vladimir Putin.

Under the proposal, an experimental legal regime (ELR) would be introduced for three years. During this period, “particularly qualified” investors would be permitted to conduct crypto transactions, according to the central bank's statement.

While the Bank of Russia has consistently voiced concerns over cryptocurrencies, it confirmed that it has put forward legislative proposals for this pilot program at the President's request. However, it reiterated warnings about the associated risks.

The experiment targets wealthy individuals with assets exceeding 100 million rubles (approximately $1.14 million) or annual incomes over 500 million rubles ($574,000). Qualified companies would also be eligible to participate. The central bank intends to establish further rules to ensure financial institutions manage these activities and related risks responsibly.

In addition to direct crypto investments, qualified participants would have access to other products linked to crypto performance, such as derivatives, securities, and Russia’s digital financial assets (DFAs)—the country's framework for tokenized assets and digital securities.

One of the primary objectives of the pilot is to bring crypto trading out of the shadows and develop regulatory standards for the provision of related services.

This domestic experimental regime is separate from last year’s legislation that allowed cryptocurrencies to be used in cross-border payments—a measure aimed at circumventing international sanctions. At the time, plans were announced to create two exchanges where importers and exporters could use Russia's card payment system to exchange rubles for crypto, with oversight by the central bank.

However, discussions of such sanctions workarounds typically attract additional restrictions, either on the entities involved or on the crypto exchanges themselves. By focusing on domestic use cases under a controlled experimental regime, authorities may be aiming to operate with less external scrutiny.