Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov announced at a recent Ministry of Finance event that the Ministry, in cooperation with the Bank of Russia, is developing a cryptocurrency exchange designed for super-qualified investors, RBC reported on April 23. The project aims to move crypto-related activities out of legal ambiguity and into compliance under the country’s experimental legal regime (ELR). Siluanov detailed the initiative’s strategic direction during the event, as translated by Google:

Together with the central bank, we will launch a crypto exchange for super-qualified investors. Crypto assets will be legalized, and crypto operations will be brought out of the shadows.

Current eligibility criteria for this elite investor group, as initially proposed by the Bank of Russia, include holding over 100 million rubles ($1.2 million) in investments and deposits or having an annual income exceeding 50 million rubles. However, these thresholds are not final. Osman Kabaloev, Deputy Director of the Financial Policy Department at the Finance Ministry, noted ongoing flexibility in setting access requirements, stating: “Perhaps it will be in this format or these indicators will be somehow adjusted in one direction or another — this is possible. I think there will be a wide range of discussions.”

Under the ELR, while super-qualified investors can directly engage in cryptocurrency transactions, standard qualified investors may only access crypto through non-deliverable derivatives linked to its price.

Russia’s broader financial infrastructure is preparing for this shift. Vladimir Krekoten of the Moscow Exchange shared that his platform is fully prepared to begin trading cryptocurrency-linked derivatives in 2025, pending regulatory approval. SPB Exchange echoed similar enthusiasm for diversifying offerings via crypto-based instruments.

However, skepticism remains. Igor Danilenko, head of asset management at Renaissance Capital, criticized the fundamental basis of cryptocurrencies, arguing that alternatives exist for hedging against inflation that do not involve tokens lacking real collateral. He said such tokens rely on a constant influx of new buyers and, in essence, resemble pyramid schemes.

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