Bank of Russia Unveils Draft Rules for Regulated Crypto Trading

The Bank of Russia has published draft rules for regulated crypto trading, custody, and settlement. These regulations aim to bring cryptocurrencies into the country's regulated exchange framework.

Under the proposed amendments, trading platforms would calculate market and weighted-average prices for digital assets, disclose trading information, and provide data to the Bank of Russia. The regulations also introduce trading suspension procedures for digital assets.

The draft rules create digital depositories as a new regulated category of financial institution responsible for recording ownership of cryptocurrencies and digital rights. Depending on their business activities, including operations involving public blockchains or post-trade settlement, digital depositories would be required to maintain between ₽50 million and ₽250 million in minimum equity composed of liquid, high-credit-quality assets.

The regulations also propose standards governing digital asset recordkeeping, customer information, account management, and access controls. Digital depositories would operate under principles similar to conventional securities depositories and be supervised through a central register maintained by the Bank of Russia.