Russia’s central bank and finance ministry are launching a crypto exchange in 2025 for “super-qualified” investors—those with over 100 million rubles ($1.15 million) in investments or 50 million rubles in annual income—aiming to legalize crypto assets and counter international sanctions, as reported by Interfax on April 23, 2025.
This move follows Russia’s 2024 law allowing businesses to use cryptocurrency for international trade to bypass Western sanctions, with the first transactions expected by year-end, amid delays in payments with partners like China and India, according to Reuters on July 30, 2024.
The exchange will operate under a three-year experimental legal regime, targeting high-net-worth individuals, but faces pushback from Russia’s financial community and lacks a fully operational regulatory framework for crypto derivatives, per BeInCrypto on April 23, 2025.
