Russia’s central bank will allow investment funds to acquire cryptocurrency derivatives early next year, a high-ranking representative has confirmed.
Only brokers can now offer the new crypto-based products on the Russian market as management companies are explicitly prohibited from doing so.
Russia to let investment funds buy crypto derivatives in the coming months
The Central Bank of Russia (CBR) will authorize capital management firms to invest in crypto-linked instruments in 2026, according to one of its top executives.
They are currently banned from buying such derivatives with a regulatory act that needs to be amended to lift the restrictions, and the bank intends to make the necessary changes in the first quarter of the new year.
Olga Shishlyannikova, director of the monetary authority’s Investment Finance Intermediation Department, made the announcement at a financial industry forum in Yekaterinburg.
Speaking on the sidelines of the conference, organized by the Russian National Association of Securities Market Participants (NAUFOR), she told RBC Investments:
“Amendments to the regulation are required. We plan to do this in the first quarter of next year. We will remove the provision that imposed the ban.”
Shishlyannikova reminded that a similar ban for other participants in the market was repealed with a circular, as it had been imposed with one issued earlier.
In the case with mutual investment funds, however, the regulator “cannot do this by letter, because we have a regulatory act,” that needs to be amended, she explained.
Olga Shishlyannikova’s comments on the matter confirm an earlier statement by her deputy, Valery Krasinsky, who first announced that the CBR is considering the move.
Speaking at a capital markets forum in September, he revealed the regulator intends to “level the playing field” for funds and let them offer investors crypto derivatives, just like brokers.
At the time, Krasinsky pointed to the need to remove other regulatory obstacles, too, and approve a list of base assets for these instruments.
Russia gradually opening its financial sector to crypto
Among financial regulators in Moscow, the Bank of Russia is the most conservative institution when it comes to allowing crypto to circulate in the nation’s economy.
But its stance has somewhat softened in the past months, especially after Russia started using cryptocurrencies in cross-border payments to circumvent Western financial restrictions. It also recognized Bitcoin as a high-return asset.
In May 2025, the CBR allowed financial firms to offer derivative instruments, securities and digital financial assets tied to the prices of major cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH).
A number of major players in the sector, including Sberbank, the Moscow Exchange and the broker Finam, almost immediately announced offerings in the new niche such as Bitcoin futures.
There are some strings attached, though. They must not provide actual delivery of the underlying assets. Also, they can be purchased only by “highly qualified” investors, both companies and individuals, meeting minimum income and asset standards.
Furthermore, the products are currently available exclusively within an “experimental legal regime,” although the central bank recently urged lawmakers to adopt a dedicated law that comprehensively regulates crypto investments in 2026.
Earlier in October, Deputy Governor Vladimir Chistyukhin unveiled the CBR’s plans to permit commercial banks to work with cryptocurrencies. A separate set of specific requirements and stringent rules will be introduced for them to reduce associated risks.
