Russia May Scrap "Highly Qualified" Rule for Broader Crypto Access
Russia is preparing to open its crypto market beyond a small circle of wealthy investors by reworking who can legally buy assets like Bitcoin. If regulators follow through, ordinary Russians could gain broader access to digital assets through supervised platforms instead of relying on informal or offshore channels.
The Bank of Russia and the Ministry of Finance plan to drop the “highly qualified investor” requirement for cryptocurrency investments. They are working on a new approach that would let a wider group of citizens buy and trade assets such as Bitcoin under a regulated framework. Officials say they want a tiered access model, where people can enter the market with different limits based on experience, risk tolerance and financial knowledge, rather than a single barrier that blocks almost everyone.
Until now, Russia has treated crypto as a product reserved for the very rich. The existing regime defines “highly qualified” status through strict income and asset tests, so only investors with very large portfolios or high annual earnings could legally access many crypto-linked products. Ordinary retail savers, even if they understood the risks, remained outside this category and therefore could not use most regulated channels to gain exposure to Bitcoin or other digital assets.
The central bank’s own rules for investment funds reinforced this narrow access. Under previous instructions, mutual funds and similar vehicles could not hold digital currencies directly in their portfolios. They also could not use derivatives that involved physical delivery of coins. At most, funds whose units did not circulate freely could take small, cash-settled positions in instruments tied to digital currency prices, and even those positions sat inside tight concentration limits. As a result, retail investors who relied on regulated funds for market exposure saw only limited, indirect contact with crypto, while direct holdings and deliverable contracts stayed off-limits under the older framework.
Comparison of Russia's Crypto Plan with the EU and US
Russia’s move to drop the “highly qualified investor” rule would bring its crypto approach closer to other large markets that already let retail investors buy digital assets under supervision. In the European Union, the MiCA framework gives service providers a single set of rules. Exchanges and custodians must get licenses, follow anti–money laundering standards and share clear risk information with users. Retail investors can still trade many tokens; however, they do so through firms that regulators monitor.
By contrast, the United States still relies on long-standing securities and commodities laws instead of a dedicated crypto statute. The SEC and CFTC use enforcement actions, registration demands and guidance to shape how companies list tokens, hold client assets and run trading platforms. As a result, access for ordinary investors exists, yet it often depends on how regulators classify each asset and on whether a platform meets those legacy rules.
In this context, Russia is trying to move away from an elite-only gate without giving up control. Regulators want to replace the single “highly qualified” barrier with a tiered system and keep limits on how funds and platforms handle crypto. If they finalize this plan, more Russians could reach assets like Bitcoin through regulated channels, while the state keeps tight oversight similar to the EU’s licensing model and the United States’ enforcement-based approach.