Key Points

Russia’s financial institutions may offer qualified investors financial derivatives, securities, and digital financial assets with yields linked to crypto prices.
The main condition is that these instruments are non-deliverable.

Bank of Russia recently made an important announcement regaring the regional crypto environment – crypto-related instruments will be made available to qualified investors. Here’s what this means and what offerings the decision involves.

Russian Financial Institutions to Offer Crypto-Linked Products to Qualified Investors

In the official release published on May 28, the Bank of Russia stated that financial institutions in the country will be able to offer qualified investors the following:

Financial derivatives
Securities
Digital financial assets with yields linked to crypto prices

However, a key condition for these offerings is that such instruments are non-deliverable.

In its official notes, the Bank of Russia also stated that credit institutions are advised to apply a “conservative approach” in risk assessment associated with these products, meaning the following:

Providing for their full coverage with capital
Setting individual limits on them

Bank of Russia reportedly plans to formalize this approach in 2025 to the regulation of credit institutions’ risks associated with digital assets’ volatilty.

It also continues to warn financial institutions and their clients of the risks involved in crypto investments.

A New Experimental Legal Regime in Russia for Crypto Transactions

According to the same press release, the Russian Government is currently considering the Bank of Russia’s proposals for the launch of a test regime – this means that only certain categories of investors could conduct crypto transactions.

The Bank of Russia previously announced a new experimental legal regime in the country for crypto transactions in March 2025.

Crypto adoption in Russia is on the rise, especially after November 2024, when Russian President Vladimir Putin officially signed a Bitcoin and crypto tax regulation law.