Crypto advocates welcome Russian central bank’s retail investor turnaround

A pro-business Russian lawmaker has welcomed the central bank’s remarkable U-turn on crypto regulation as Moscow prepares to let retail investors buy Bitcoin and other high-cap tokens.

Anton Gorelkin, the first deputy chairman of the State Duma’s IT committee, noted that the Central Bank had been advocating a “ban on cryptocurrencies for four years,” Russia’s Parliamentary Gazette reported.

“The central bank is now demonstrating a more balanced position,” Gorelkin said. “The bank’s stance remains unchanged on just two points: that cryptocurrencies are high-risk instruments, and that they cannot be used for domestic transactions. But we’ve never advocated for either of those things.”

Gorelkin and others have been locked in a long impasse with the central bank, which called for a sweeping ban on crypto as recently as March.

The central bank’s climbdown signals a potential green light for major commercial banks to begin offering customers crypto trading services.

Central bank’s concessions

Under the plans, revealed on December 23, the central bank wants to let both “qualified and unqualified investors” buy crypto. When the central bank speaks about qualified investors, it refers to high-income individuals and professional investors. The term unqualified investors refers to retail investors.

However, the bank insisted that limits must be placed on the amount of money each class of investor is allowed to spend on crypto per year.

It is yet to disclose the full details of these limits. However, it noted some details of these proposals.

It said that retail investors will be granted access to the “most liquid cryptocurrencies,” but “only after passing an eligibility test.” It did not explicitly mention any cryptocurrency by name in its release.

It also proposed capping annual investment in crypto at just over $3,800.

The bank says it has sent a list of proposals to amend existing legislation to the government for consideration.

The central bank added that it continues to consider cryptocurrencies “high-risk instruments,” adding that they are “not issued or guaranteed by any jurisdiction, and are subject to increased volatility and sanctions risks.”

“When deciding to invest in cryptocurrencies, investors should understand that they are assuming the risk of the potential loss of their funds,” the bank said in a statement.

Tim Alper is a news correspondent at DL News. Got a tip? Email at tdalper@dlnews.com.