The Bank of Russia has approved Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH) and Tether (USDT) for retail trading from 17 November 2026.

The new rules allow non-qualified investors to purchase cryptocurrencies through brokers, trust managers and exchange offices.

The Bank of Russia requires every investor to pass a knowledge test before completing cryptocurrency transactions.

Non-qualified investors face an annual purchase limit of 300,000 rubles through each individual intermediary.

Qualified investors can access all cryptocurrencies without purchase limits under the approved framework.

The approved list includes only liquid assets meeting regulatory criteria, including market capitalisation and average daily trading volume.

The central bank also assessed…