Bank of Russia opens Bitcoin, Ether and USDT to retail buyers on Nov. 17, capped at 300,000 rubles a year

What the final rules say

The first reports came at about 20:21 SGT on November 6 (12:21 UTC). PANews said "Bitcoin, Ether, USDT and other cryptocurrencies", but the fuller Russian reports name a list of three.

Two details change how the cap reads. It applies per intermediary, so the reports describe a limit at each broker or exchanger and not a single national total for one person. PPT.ru's September summary of the directive also describes the sum as counted within a calendar year. On that wording a count begun in late November would restart on January 1, though we have not read the final text to confirm it.

How much crypto 300,000 rubles buys

The Bank of Russia's official rate for November 7 was 82.1386 rubles per dollar. That makes the cap $3,652.36.

These are our sums before any intermediary fee or spread, and those charges have not appeared in the pages we opened. Cointelegraph rounds the cap to "around $3,700".

The road to November 17

What Moscow Exchange plans from December 1

Moscow Exchange said on November 2 that it plans the first organized digital currency market in Russia, under Law No. 282-FZ. The first stage is pilot deals, with participants joining as they become ready, so early volume may be thin.

Trading hours match its stock market, 06:50 to 23:50 Moscow time, which is 11:50 to 04:50 SGT the next day. The first list is the same three assets, with same-day (TOD) and next-day (TOM) settlement plus swap operations for managing liquidity. Trades go through the exchange's central clearing at NCC. The exchange says the list will grow later with international and Russian instruments, without giving dates.

What stays restricted

The new channel comes with limits outside it. Cointelegraph reports, citing the Bank of Russia, that transfers from regulated digital accounts to self-custody wallets are already banned, and that direct peer-to-peer trading will be prohibited from July 1, 2027. Paying for goods and services with crypto also remains prohibited.

For a Russian buyer the first of those matters most. On that description, a coin bought through this channel stays inside the regulated account instead of moving to a personal wallet. Anyone used to withdrawing to a hardware wallet should ask the intermediary how that works before buying.

What the cap means for market size

The cap makes the arithmetic easy. At $3,652 per person per intermediary, $1 billion of new buying would take about 273,800 full-cap purchases. For scale, the BTC-USDT spot pairs on OKX and Bitget alone traded about $885 million over the 24 hours to 06:49 SGT, $663 million and $222 million respectively.

That comparison sets a sense of size and nothing more. We found no official estimate of how many people will take part, qualified investors have no cap at all, and some retail buyers may use several intermediaries. Existing Russian holdings bought through other routes are also outside this count.

How the market has reacted so far

OKX showed BTC at $75,965.80 at 06:49 SGT, up 0.37% from its 24-hour opening price of $75,688, within a range of $74,887.90 to $76,427.10. ETH was at $2,239.94, up 0.42% from $2,230.50. Moves that small cannot be tied to one policy story, and these figures do not show that the Russian rules caused them. You can compare positioning on our funding rates and liquidations pages around the two dates below.

What to check

If you live in Russia and plan to use this channel:

1. Confirm your status with the intermediary, since the cap applies to non-qualified investors only.
2. Ask what the test covers, whether a failed attempt can be retaken, and what fees and spread apply.
3. Keep your own record of purchases at each intermediary against the 300,000-ruble cap.
4. Ask whether coins can leave the account, and to where.
5. If you rely on peer-to-peer trading, note the July 1, 2027 ban.

Treat any message that offers "state-approved" crypto purchases, or asks you to pay to clear the test, as a likely scam until the intermediary confirms it through its own official channel.

If you trade from outside Russia, watch two dates. November 17 shows whether intermediaries are ready to sell on day one. December 1 shows whether Moscow Exchange's pilot deals produce volume you can measure. KuCoin has moved the other way, as our report on its exit from Russia and Belarus showed.

What we could not confirm

The Bank of Russia's website returned a browser check to our requests for its press pages, so the facts above come from press reports and Moscow Exchange. Vedomosti and PPT.ru cite the regulator. We have not read the directive's full text. We could not confirm which intermediaries will be ready on November 17, what they will charge, or how the test works.

Quick answers

When can Russian retail investors buy Bitcoin under the new rules?

From November 17, 2026, through a broker, asset manager or crypto exchanger. Moscow Exchange plans to start its own market on December 1.

What is the limit?

300,000 rubles a year through one intermediary for non-qualified investors, about $3,652 at the November 7 official rate. Qualified investors have no purchase cap.

Which coins are on the list?

Non-qualified investors get Bitcoin and Ether plus the USDT stablecoin. Qualified investors can buy any crypto asset.