Four years ago the Bank of Russia wanted to ban crypto outright. On November 17 it will do the opposite: let ordinary Russians buy Bitcoin, Ethereum and Tether’s USDT through licensed brokers and exchanges. The list is short, the limits are strict, and the political subtext is hard to miss.

What exactly did the Bank of Russia approve?

The central bank has finalised the rules that let exchanges admit three assets to public trading for non-qualified investors: Bitcoin, Ether and USDT. From November 17, exchanges may list them, and retail investors can buy through brokers, asset managers or licensed crypto exchanges. Moscow Exchange plans to launch its own crypto trading in December, and the country’s largest banks, Sberbank and VTB, are…