Russia’s Finance Ministry to Offer Crypto Trading to ‘Highly-Qualified’ Investors: Report

Russia’s finance ministry and central bank are set to unveil a crypto exchange for “highly-qualified” investors, news agency Interfax reported on Wednesday.

The exchange will “legalize crypto assets and bring crypto operations out of the shadows,” Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said during a ministry board meeting, according to the report.

“Naturally, this will not happen domestically, but as part of the operations permitted under the experimental legal regime,” Siluanov said.

The Central Bank of Russia proposed allow crypto trading within a pilot known as the experimental legal regime (ELR) in March.

This would apply to highly qualified investors, a new investor category for individuals whose investments exceed 100 million rubles ($1.2 million) or an annual income exceeding 50 million rubles ($600,000).

The absence of a centralized domestic crypto exchange in Russia means Russians rely on overseas trading platforms to buy and sell cryptocurrency, which the Finance Ministry and Central Bank may be seeking to counteract.

The Central Bank has also proposed allowing highly-qualified investors to access derivatives and securities linked to digital assets, that do not involve the delivery of crypto to the investor but derive returns based on its value.