Russia moves to restrict retail investors from buying foreign stablecoins

The Russian government's final draft of a cryptocurrency regulation bill includes a provision to restrict retail investors from buying foreign stablecoins, Vitsmedia reported. This marks a change from a previous version of the bill, which treated stablecoins like other cryptocurrencies and allowed qualified investors to trade them. The final draft reclassifies them as a separate regulatory category. According to the bill, foreign digital financial products can, in principle, only be purchased by professional investors. Retail investors will be limited to specific products designated by the Central Bank of Russia. Meanwhile, the central bank has also proposed regulations to place all stablecoin transactions under state supervision, permitting them only through exchanges or licensed crypto exchange offices.