Russia’s central bank proposes allowing retail BTC, ETH, USDT trading

Russia’s central bank has released a draft guideline that would allow retail investors to trade Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH) and Tether (USDT) on exchanges. Under the draft, retail investors would be allowed to buy up to 300,000 rubles worth of cryptocurrencies annually through intermediaries including brokers, crypto exchange providers and asset managers. The eligible assets were selected based on criteria including market capitalization, average daily trading volume and at least five years of price formation history in overseas markets, with BTC, ETH and USDT currently included. Professional investors would be allowed to buy all cryptocurrencies traded on exchanges and in over-the-counter markets without restrictions. Public comments on the guideline will be accepted through Aug. 24.