Bank of Russia Greenlights Crypto Offerings to Institutional Players

In a major development, Bank of Russia said that it would allow selected financial institutions to offer crypto-based products to institutional and accredited investors.

As a result, some banks and financial firms will be able to offer different products like crypto derivatives, security instruments, as well as other crypto-linked digital assets.

The Bank of Russia clarified that a critical condition for these products is the exclusion of “actual delivery of cryptocurrencies.” This statement coincided with the central bank reporting of a 51% increase in crypto asset inflows by Russian residents during Q1 2025, amounting to 7.3 trillion rubles ($81.5 billion).

Russian Banks Show Interest In Crypto Offerings

Following the Bank of Russia’s announcement, some banking players in the country started offering crypto services to their clients. On May 29, one of Russia’s largest commercial banks: T-Bank, formerly known as Tinkoff Bank, announced its launch of digital financial assets (DFAs) linked to Bitcoin. It noted:

“The tool allows you to invest in cryptocurrency in rubles through a familiar application — safely and within the legal framework of the Russian Federation, without opening an account on a crypto exchange and difficulties with protecting your wallet.”

T-Bank has issued its “smart asset” offering via Atomyze, a state-backed tokenization platform, which is available to accredited investors. Despite this approach, the Russian central bank still remains vigilant and restrictive in its approach towards direct crypto investments.

“The Bank of Russia still does not recommend financial institutions and their clients to invest directly in cryptocurrencies,” the central bank said. The central bank highlighted ongoing government discussions about introducing an experimental framework that could permit select investors to trade crypto assets like Bitcoin directly.

Bank Of Russia Holds $9 Billion And More In Crypto

The Bank of Russia, in its latest financial stability review, estimated that Russians hold 827 billion rubles ($9.2 billion) in cryptocurrency on centralized exchanges (CEXs).

Bitcoin BTC $96 611 24h volatility: 2.1% Market cap: $1.92 T Vol. 24h: $29.09 B dominates these holdings, accounting for 62%, followed by Ether ETH $1 845 24h volatility: 2.6% Market cap: $222.72 B Vol. 24h: $14.22 B (22%) and stablecoins such as Tether (USDT) and Circle’s USDC, which collectively make up 15.9%.

However, some local crypto enthusiasts argue that the actual volume of cryptocurrency owned by Russians is substantially higher than the Bank of Russia’s reported CEX holdings.

Overall, banking institutions are now warming up to cryptocurrencies, especially stablecoin as regulatory frameworks improve. The US is working on a stablecoin bill, the GENIUS Act, to bring further regulatory clarity for USD-pegged digital assets.

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