Russia Limits Retail Crypto Trading to BTC, ETH, and USDT

Russia's central bank is finalizing draft rules that will limit retail investors to trading only three cryptocurrencies on regulated exchanges: Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), and USDT. This move is part of a larger effort to open regulated crypto trading to the public, with legislation passed in July allowing this from September 1.

The proposed restrictions aim to cap non-qualified investors' yearly purchases at 300,000 rubles (approximately $3,600) per intermediary, but qualified investors will not be subject to this limit. This means that larger investors could potentially bypass the cap by using multiple brokers or exchanges.

Tether's dollar-linked token, USDT, has been added to the whitelist of allowed assets alongside Bitcoin and Ether. Crypto payments within Russia remain prohibited under these new rules.