Bank of Russia Approves Limited Crypto Exposure for Qualified Investors

• Russia’s central bank is giving the green light for financial institutions to offer qualified investors access to financial derivatives and securities.
• This move follows the Bank of Russia’s submission of a proposal to launch a trial program for testing these offerings.

The approach that banks take toward digital assets varies widely across the globe. Some financial institutions remain cautious and even restrictive. Others are embracing crypto to meet growing client demand. Major players like JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, and Ally Bank have begun integrating crypto services into their offerings, reflecting a broader shift toward digital finance.

In line with this, the Bank of Russia made a move. On May 28, it announced that financial institutions can offer crypto-linked investment products, though only to accredited investors. The announcement came at a time when interest in digital assets is growing. In the first quarter of 2025 alone, Russian residents invested 7.3 trillion rubles (roughly $81.5 billion) in crypto assets, a 51% jump from the previous quarter.

Key Highlights

Russia’s central bank is taking a cautious step toward integrating digital assets into its financial system. According to the statement, the new three-year experimental legal regime only allows “qualified investors”,  those with more than 100 million rubles (about $1.15 million) in securities and deposits or an annual income of over 50 million rubles ($575,000), to access crypto-linked financial products.

Those who are qualified can trade derivatives, securities, and other digital financial instruments tied to cryptocurrency prices, though actual delivery of cryptocurrencies remains off-limits. This distinction allows for market exposure without direct ownership, helping to manage regulatory risks.

Already, Russian banks have reacted positively to this. For example, T-Bank (formerly Tinkoff Bank) rolled out Bitcoin-linked digital financial assets through the state-backed tokenization platform Atomyze, exclusively for accredited clients. Ultimately, this approach reflects a deliberate effort to explore the benefits of digital finance while maintaining strong regulatory oversight and minimizing systemic risk. The bank noted:

Credit institutions are advised to apply a conservative approach to assessing the risks associated with these instruments: provide for their full coverage with capital, and set individual limits on them,

Global Approaches to Crypto

This move by Russia is part of a broader global trend. Sygnum Bank, a leading digital asset bank in Switzerland, also announced an upgrade to its lending services. A CNF report pointed out that clients can now use staked Solana (SOL) as collateral for Lombard loans, unlocking immediate liquidity while still earning staking rewards on their assets.

In the U.S., banking giants including JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citigroup, and Wells Fargo are reportedly considering launching a joint stablecoin. If realized, this could transform how digital payments are processed across the traditional banking system. On the Islamic finance front, Ruya, a digital-first Islamic community bank, has become the world’s first Islamic bank to offer customers direct access to virtual asset investments, including Bitcoin, through its mobile app.

According to another report by CNF, the Saudi Central Bank (formerly known as the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority, or SAMA) is now among the few central banks with direct exposure to Bitcoin. It currently holds 25,656 shares of MicroStrategy Inc., the company recently rebranded as “Strategy” and widely known for its substantial Bitcoin reserves.

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