[Russian Ministry of Finance: Proposal to Lower Entry Threshold for Crypto Trading Pilot] September 5 – According to reports, Alexey Yakovlev, Director of the Financial Policy Department at the Russian Ministry of Finance, stated that there are plans to lower the threshold for obtaining the status of 'special qualified' investors in order to expand the participants eligible for organized cryptocurrency trading under the Central Bank's 'experimental legal regime' (ELR) framework. In March of this year, the Russian Central Bank proposed a three-year pilot program, which is currently only open to 'special qualified' investors. The existing criteria require holding securities and deposits totaling at least 100 million rubles (approximately $1.2316 million) or having an annual income of at least 50 million rubles (approximately $615,800) in the previous year. The specific extent of the reduction has not been disclosed, with the goal being to enhance accessibility while ensuring risks remain controllable.