Russia’s Ministry of Finance wants to open the door wider for citizens to take part in crypto trading, calling for lower entry requirements that currently limit participation to the country’s wealthiest individuals.
At present, only investors with deposits and securities worth over 100 million rubles ($1.22 million) or an annual income exceeding 50 million rubles ($615,755) can take part.
Those numbers place crypto access far beyond the reach of ordinary Russians, whose average monthly salary falls between $700 and $1,200.
Yakovlev argued that keeping eligibility this high makes little sense if the country wants its supervised crypto pilot to succeed.
The Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank have been at odds for years on how Russia should handle crypto. While the ministry has pushed for regulation and taxation, the Central Bank has preferred strict controls, including calls to ban trading altogether.
That divide narrowed last year when Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered both sides to find common ground. Putin has also urged Russian regions with unused energy reserves to engage in crypto mining, tying the sector’s future to the country’s broader economic strategy.
The Central Bank introduced what it calls an experimental legal governance, designed as a sandbox for companies to use crypto in cross-border deals. It also provides a controlled space where qualified investors can buy and sell crypto under official oversight.
The ministry now wants the ELR to get more people involved before the program ends. Current plans limit the sandbox to three years, after which permanent regulations are expected.
While the Central Bank continues to argue that average citizens must be protected from the risks of crypto trading, its stance is losing ground.
The Moscow Exchange now offers investors access to securities tied to overseas crypto ETFs, and some commercial banks have started looking at derivatives and other crypto-related products.
Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView
