The new rules, which target professional market participants, dictate that cryptocurrencies approved for trading must be included in the calculation of financial resilience ratios. The institution established that these might account for only 25% of the total value, limiting the risks associated with holding crypto assets.
Key Takeaways
Draft rules cap market players’ crypto holdings at 25% of total equity to ensure financial resilience.Required registration with crypto depositories will increase state oversight and verify asset existence.While domestic crypto payments remain banned, new laws allow cross-border use to bypass sanctions legally.The Bank of Russia has issued a new draft regulation ruling on the requirements that professional market participants must follow when including cryptocurrency holdings in their balance sheets.
Also, to be included in these calculations, cryptocurrency holdings must be registered with crypto depositories, allowing the state to verify their existence.
“Owing to the new approach, the ratios will factor in cryptocurrency-related risks and help ensure intermediaries’ financial resilience in cryptocurrency transactions,” the bank concluded.
The move is seen as a continuation of the legalization of cryptocurrencies in Russia, opening the doors for users to assess the solidity of regulated market participants based on their crypto holdings, but also marks the start of a deeper state oversight era, increasing vigilance on the operators’ internal crypto dealings and maintaining a limited involvement of cryptocurrency assets in the Russian economy.
Even so, the use of cryptocurrencies as an internal payment method is prohibited, while exporters and importers can still use them in cross-border settlements without limitations, enabling them to leverage stablecoins and other digital assets to sidestep the risks of secondary sanctions legally.
