Russia Adds Bitcoin, Ethereum, and USDT to Eligible Cryptocurrency List
The Bank of Russia has added Bitcoin, Ethereum, and USDT to its list of eligible cryptocurrencies for public circulation on Russian exchanges. This decision follows the country's new digital assets law, which sets out criteria for eligible assets, including an average market capitalization above $61 billion and average daily trading volumes above $12 billion over two years.
The three assets currently meet these requirements, with Bitcoin and Ethereum being among the largest cryptocurrencies by market capitalization. USDT is a dollar-pegged stablecoin that has been used for cross-border trade in crypto without volume limits under the new law.
However, it's worth noting that public trading of these assets in Russia will not be as open as it sounds, with non-qualified investors limited to $3,690 per year through each intermediary and must pass a risk knowledge test before buying. Qualified investors face no purchase cap but still require testing.
The news did not move Bitcoin's price, which was trading around $64,000 on Tuesday, down 1.6% over 24 hours. The drivers of the market were elsewhere, including positioning ahead of the July CPI print and September Fed hike odds.