Russia's central bank will open applications for crypto exchange and depository registration on October 5, under rules tied to a crypto law that took effect September 1. Each applicant still needs an individual Bank of Russia decision, and retail access to specific coins remains a separate, unresolved question.
Crypto exchange operators and digital depositories in Russia can apply for entry into official regulatory registers starting October 5, when new Bank of Russia admission rules take effect. The rules give firms a route into the regulated market envisioned by a crypto law that took effect in September, but each applicant still needs its own separate decision from the regulator before it can operate.
How firms enter the market
Under the ordinary route, the Bank of Russia has 30 working days to decide once it receives an applicant's last required document. For a digital depository, that window stretches to 60 working days. These are decision periods, not promised approvals or dates for customer trading, and the clock starts only once a complete document set is filed — not on October 5 itself.
Some existing banks, brokers and participants in an experimental regime can use a faster notification route instead, with eligibility depending on the role sought. The regulator says qualifying firms using that route must submit documents before September 1, 2027, and that route also requires a decision on a register entry.
Retail access still pending
The underlying crypto law took effect September 1 and envisages buying and selling through regulated intermediaries. It requires testing for both qualified and non-qualified investors and sets a 300,000-ruble annual purchase limit per intermediary for non-qualified buyers.
Which assets a non-qualified retail investor may buy is being handled separately. In August, the central bank named Bitcoin, Ethereum and Tether's USDT for public exchange trading in a draft directive still open for comment, and the October admission procedure does not finalize that proposed list.
For investors, the next markers are the Bank of Russia's decisions on individual firms and the outcome of the separate asset rules. An effective admission procedure alone does not establish that regulated retail trading is available.
Source: CryptoSlate
Trading involves risk.
Risk Disclaimer
