Russia’s Central Bank Signals Shift Toward Retail Crypto Access

Russia’s central bank has submitted draft that would allow non-qualified investors to purchase crypto, but only under strict conditions.

The Bank of Russia put forward a policy proposal that would allow non-qualified investors to buy certain cryptocurrencies.

According to a Tuesday announcement, the central bank’s proposal would allow both qualified and non-qualified investors to buy most crypto, but with limitations.

Russian residents will also be able to acquire crypto on foreign platforms, pay with foreign accounts, and transfer the resulting assets through Russian intermediaries. In such cases, they will be required to notify the tax service of those transactions.

Related: Belarus blocks Bybit, Bitget, OKX as Russia clamps down on crypto gray area

The report follows a recent statement from the central bank’s first deputy governor, Vladimir Chistyukhin, who recently said that Russia was considering easing crypto rules.

He hinted at the potential removal of the requirement to meet the “super-qualified investor” criteria for buying and selling crypto with actual delivery.

The “super-qualified investor” category was introduced in late April, when Russia’s finance ministry and central bank launched a crypto exchange. This classification is defined by wealth and income thresholds of over 100 million rubles ($1.3 million) or an annual income of at least 50 million rubles.

Related: Here’s why Russia ranks highest in Europe for crypto adoption: Chainalysis

The central bank said that it “continues to consider cryptocurrencies a high-risk instrument.”

Source: CoinTelegraph