MOSCOW—The Bank of Russia published a draft directive Aug. 11 formally authorizing public retail access to Bitcoin, Ethereum and Tether's USDT on domestic exchanges, integrating the assets into Russia's regulated financial system.
XRP is absent from the approved list. The exclusion marks a clear regulatory distinction for the asset under Russia's newly established licensed crypto market framework.
Retail investors must use approved intermediaries and pass a risk assessment test. Non-qualified investors face an annual trading cap of 300,000 rubles per intermediary.
The Bank of Russia cited market capitalization, daily trading volume and each asset's historical track record in determining which cryptocurrencies qualified.
XRP has seen institutional integration in Russia—including an XRP index on the Moscow Exchange—but remains unavailable for public retail access under the new rules.
USDT's inclusion creates a federally sanctioned on-ramp for the most widely used stablecoin within Russia's regulated financial ecosystem. Bitcoin and Ethereum's approval establishes a formal pathway for domestic retail capital to enter those markets.
XRP's retail status could shift depending on future Bank of Russia reviews, the outcome of U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission proceedings involving Ripple Labs, or announcements from Ripple itself.
