Russia Lets Retail Buy Bitcoin, Ethereum, USDT—Not XRP
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- Bank of Russia published a draft directive on Aug. 11 letting non-qualified investors acquire digital assets through brokers, crypto exchanges, or managers, capped at 300,000 rubles per intermediary per calendar year.
- Only Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Tether's USDT cleared for public exchange trading, with the central bank citing market cap, average daily volume, and at least five years of pricing history on foreign platforms as the qualification filter.
- Qualified investors—Russia's accredited class—face no caps and can access all cryptocurrencies traded on exchange and OTC markets, but every investor regardless of status must pass a mandatory risk test before trading.
- XRP was excluded despite seemingly meeting the criteria; the article attributes this to the token's regulatory troubles stemming from the since-settled SEC lawsuit against Ripple, which caused multiple delistings and relistings over the years.
- The central bank accepts public comments until Aug. 24, and the directive takes effect 10 days after official publication once signed by Governor Elvira Nabiullina.
Why it matters: This is Russia's first formal framework letting ordinary retail investors trade crypto on public markets, with purchases capped at 300,000 rubles per intermediary. The exclusion of XRP—despite what appears to be a qualifying track record—shows regulatory baggage from past enforcement actions can override pure liquidity metrics, while qualified investors get uncapped access to all listed tokens, creating a two-tier market where wealthier participants face no restrictions.
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