Russia Mulls Allowing Crypto Access to ‘Qualified Investors’ for Cross-Border Uses

• Russia is allegedly gearing up to allow crypto access to certain investors.  
• The users will leverage digital assets for cross-border payments.
• The development came amid Russia’s reported plan to set up two exchanges.

Russia is reportedly discussing the possibility of allowing “highly qualified investors” to use cryptocurrencies for cross-border payments, indicating a possible turnaround in the country’s stance against digital assets.

The development follows reports on August 23 that Russia was planning to launch two crypto exchanges in Moscow and St. Petersburg as it explored the idea of creating a BRICS stablecoin to support foreign economic activities. Per the sources, the stablecoin would be pegged to the Chinese yuan (RMB) and the BRICS currency basket.

Is Russia Finally Warming Up to Crypto?

In a recent interview with a local media outlet, Alexey Guznov, the Bank of Russia’s state secretary and deputy governor, said the law on digital financial assets was amended to allow the use of crypto for cross-border payments.

“The possibility of allowing a limited circle of particularly qualified investors (there is currently no such concept in the legislation) to trade digital currencies is currently being discussed, so that they can buy and sell such assets, but this is a topic for the next stage,” Guznov allegedly stated.

Guznov clarified that experimental crypto transactions would only be carried out through “established platforms” without specifying names when asked whether investors would be required to use Russian exchanges. He also acknowledged that the bank has yet to propose a law for designating “qualified investors.”

Per the report, Russia’s Central Bank is also considering allowing certain stablecoins for cross-border payments under the existing legal framework. Such stablecoins must be backed by an obligated party and resemble digital financial assets issued in Russia, such as centralized, tokenized assets.

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