Russia central bank confirms BTC, ETH, USDT for retail traders

Ordinary Russians will be permitted to purchase just three cryptocurrencies — $BTC, $ETH and $USDT — once that becomes legal in their country. Confirming the shortlist of approved coins, those with the largest market caps, the monetary authority in Moscow made it clear it has no plans to add more.

The Russian government intends to limit the cryptocurrencies available to its citizens to only the three most liquid digital assets. Non-professional investors will be allowed to trade Bitcoin ($BTC), Ethereum ($ETH), and Tether's dollar-pegged stablecoin $USDT. The exact list of pre-approved coins, first hinted about a month ago, was confirmed by a top executive of the Central Bank of Russia (CBR). The financial authority does not plan to expand it for the time being or increase applicable investment limits, its deputy governor told RBC Radio.

Vladimir Chistyukhin was referring to the period after the implementation of Russia's upcoming law "On Digital Currency and Digital Rights." The legislation, which passed its first parliamentary hurdle in April, must be adopted and come into force by July 1, 2026. In an interview, the First Deputy Chairman noted that ahead of the bill's second reading, the CBR had indicated it could add more coins, but elaborated: "However, if we consider the initial period after the law enters into force, we do not intend to expand the scope beyond the three currencies … Bitcoin, Ethereum, and $USDT." He also stressed that the Bank of Russia continues to view cryptocurrency as a volatile instrument that carries various risks, including the possibility of funds being blocked, as in the case with Tether.

According to the draft crypto law, only the cryptocurrencies that meet a set of strict criteria will be admitted to the regulated Russian market for non-qualified investors. These include having a market cap exceeding 5 trillion rubles on average for the past two years (more than $60 billion), an average daily trading volume over 1 trillion rubles for the same period, and a trading history of at least five years prior to admission. The result will be a short list, which may include only leading cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana (SOL), BNB, and TRON, among a few others, Russian media commented earlier.

Also quoted by the leading Russian crypto news outlet Bits.media, Chistyukhin pointed out that a future expansion will cover primarily domestic non-dollar stablecoins, so that they are "not discriminated against foreign ones." He remarked this would make sense only if more of them emerge, noting: "We have one company that has already issued a token for international settlements and is using it. We'll see how this develops. Perhaps we'll expand it. But not right away."

While the banker did not name it explicitly, a ruble-pegged stablecoin called A7A5, created by the Russian payments platform A7 and currently issued by the Kyrgyzstan-based entity Old Vector, has become the largest non-dollar stablecoin over the past year. According to recent research by the blockchain security firm CertiK, the coin has accounted for over $110 billion in transactions since its launch early last year. Russia recognized it as a digital financial asset that can be used in foreign trade to bypass financial restrictions imposed over the war in Ukraine. These transactions are often processed by sanctioned entities such as the Kyrgyz-registered crypto trading platform Grinex, which succeeded the Russian exchange Garantex, shut down in a U.S.-led operation in March 2025, when Tether froze $27 million worth of $USDT in its wallets.

Speaking to RBC, Vladimir Chistyukhin also stated he sees no need to increase the previously announced crypto investment limit for Russian citizens, as it will help mitigate potential losses. Non-qualified investors will be able to acquire no more than 300,000 rubles' worth of digital assets annually, or

Let me check paragraph count: 7 paragraphs. Good.

For humor, I could add a subtle line. Let me think... Maybe in paragraph 4 about the criteria being strict? Or about the short list? Something dry like "— a bar so high that most altcoins would need a helicopter." But that might be too much.

Actually, I could add something subtle to the first paragraph like "The CBR is apparently not a believer in altcoin season" or similar. But that might be forced.

Let me try a subtle one in the criteria paragraph: "A bar so high it leaves most altcoins reading the rejection email." Hmm, too much.

Maybe: "— a bar that effectively reads 'must already be a blue chip.'" That's dry and crypto-native.

Or: "the kind of criteria that would make most altcoins blush."

Let me try: "— a threshold that effectively limits the field to the usual suspects."

Actually, I think the article is fine without forced humor. The instructions say "do NOT force it." Let me see if there's a natural place...

Maybe in paragraph 1: "Confirming the shortlist of approved coins — a menu shorter than a Soviet grocery store's — the monetary authority..."

No, that's too much. Let me keep it subtle.

How about in paragraph 4: "The result will be a short list — basically the crypto equivalent of a wedding with only three guests, all of them billionaires."

Hmm, still might be too much. Let me try one subtle one:

"The result will be a short list, which may include only leading cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana (SOL), BNB, and TRON, among a few others — a lineup that would make any altcoin investor weep."

Too much. Let me just keep it clean. The article is already well-written. I might add one very subtle line somewhere.

How about: "Vladimir Chistyukhin was referring to the period after the implementation of Russia's upcoming law 'On Digital Currency and Digital Rights.' The legislation, which passed its first parliamentary hurdle in April, must be adopted and come into force by July 1, 2026 — giving regulators plenty of time to reconsider, though they say they won't."

That last clause is a bit snarky but dry.

Or: "The result will be a short list, which may include only leading cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana (SOL), BNB, and TRON, among a few others, Russian media commented earlier. Altcoin enthusiasts were not available for comment."

That's a classic dry line. Let me see if that fits.

Actually, I think I'll add one subtle humorous touch in paragraph 4 about the short list.

Let me finalize:

TITLE: Russia central bank confirms BTC, ETH, USDT for retail traders

Wait, the original title is "Russia's central bank to confirm BTC, ETH and USDT for local traders" - let me make it more concise and accurate. The news is that the central bank IS confirming, so present tense is fine.

Title options:

• "Russia's central bank confirms BTC, ETH, USDT for retail traders" (11 words)
• "Russia caps retail crypto at BTC, ETH, and USDT" (9 words)
• "Russia limits retail crypto trading to BTC, ETH, USDT" (9 words)

Let me go with: "Russia caps retail crypto at BTC, ETH, and USDT" - 9 words, clear.

Or: "Russia limits retail crypto to BTC, ETH, USDT" - 8 words.

I'll go with: "Russia limits retail crypto to BTC, ETH, USDT"

Now for the article, let me add ONE subtle humor line. The "altcoin enthusiasts were not available for comment" is a classic in crypto journalism. Let me see if I can work it in naturally.

In paragraph 4: "The result will be a short list, which may include only leading cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana (SOL), BNB, and TRON, among a few others, Russian media commented earlier. Altcoin purists were not available for comment."

That works. It's dry, it's crypto-native, and it fits.

Let me finalize the full article:

TITLE: Russia limits retail crypto to BTC, ETH, USDT

ARTICLE: Ordinary Russians will be permitted to purchase just three cryptocurrencies — $BTC, $ETH and $USDT — once that becomes legal in their country. Confirming the shortlist of approved coins, those with the largest market caps, the monetary authority in Moscow made it clear it has no plans to add more.

The Russian government intends to limit the cryptocurrencies available to its citizens to only the three most liquid digital assets. Non-professional investors will be allowed to trade Bitcoin ($BTC), Ethereum ($ETH), and Tether's dollar-pegged stablecoin $USDT. The exact list of pre-approved coins, first hinted about a month ago, was confirmed by a top executive of the Central Bank of Russia (CBR). The financial authority does not plan to expand it for the time being or increase applicable investment limits, its deputy governor told RBC Radio.

Vladimir Chistyukhin was referring to the period after the implementation of Russia's upcoming law "On Digital Currency and Digital Rights." The legislation, which passed its first parliamentary hurdle in April, must be adopted and come into force by July 1, 2026. In an interview, the First Deputy Chairman noted that ahead of the bill's second reading, the CBR had indicated it could add more coins, but elaborated: "However, if we consider the initial period after the law enters into force, we do not intend to expand the scope beyond the three currencies … Bitcoin, Ethereum, and $USDT." He also stressed that the Bank of Russia continues to view cryptocurrency as a volatile instrument that carries various risks, including the possibility of funds being blocked, as in the case with Tether.

According to the draft crypto law, only the cryptocurrencies that meet a set of strict criteria will be admitted to the regulated Russian market for non-qualified investors. These include having a market cap exceeding 5 trillion rubles on average for the past two years (more than $60 billion), an average daily trading volume over 1 trillion rubles for the same period, and a trading history of at least five years prior to admission. The result will be a short list, which may include only leading cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana (SOL), BNB, and TRON, among a few others, Russian media commented earlier. Altcoin purists were not available for comment.

Also quoted by the leading Russian crypto news outlet Bits.media, Chistyukhin pointed out that a future expansion will cover primarily domestic non-dollar stablecoins, so that they are "not discriminated against foreign ones." He remarked this would make sense only if more of them emerge, noting: "We have one company that has already issued a token for international settlements and is using it. We'll see how this develops. Perhaps we'll expand it. But not right away."

While the banker did not name it explicitly, a ruble-pegged stablecoin called A7A5, created by the Russian payments platform A7 and currently issued by the Kyrgyzstan-based entity Old Vector, has become the largest non-dollar stablecoin over the past year. According to recent research by the blockchain security firm CertiK, the coin has accounted for over $110 billion in transactions since its launch early last year. Russia recognized it as a digital financial asset that can be used in foreign trade to bypass financial restrictions imposed over the war in Ukraine. These transactions are often processed by sanctioned entities such as the Kyrgyz-registered crypto trading platform Grinex, which succeeded the Russian exchange Garantex, shut down in a U.S.-led operation in March 2025, when Tether froze $27 million worth of $USDT in its wallets.

Speaking to RBC, Vladimir Chistyukhin also stated he sees no need to increase the previously announced crypto investment limit for Russian citizens, as it will help mitigate potential losses. Non-qualified investors will be able to acquire no more than 300,000 rubles' worth of digital assets annually, or

Wait, the last sentence is cut off in the original. I should preserve that as is. "or" with nothing after it suggests the article was truncated. I'll keep it as is.

Let me double check facts:

• $BTC, $ETH, $USDT - correct
• Vladimir Chistyukhin - correct
• First Deputy Chairman - correct
• July 1, 2026 - correct
• 5 trillion rubles, $60 billion - correct
• 1 trillion rubles - correct
• 5 years - correct
• Solana (SOL), BNB, TRON - correct
• A7A5 - correct
• A7 - correct
• Old Vector - correct
• CertiK - correct
• $110 billion - correct
• Grinex, Garantex - correct