Russia to Launch Mandatory Crypto Investor Testing by Late November

The National Association of Securities Market Participants (NAUFOR) has submitted draft standards to the Bank of Russia for final review. Once published, these rules will establish uniform procedures for brokers, exchanges, and digital depositories. First Vice President Ekaterina Andreeva confirmed that brokers are expected to begin administering these tests by the end of November, marking the first phase of the implementation of Federal Law No. 282-FZ.

The regulatory structure distinguishes between qualified and nonqualified investors. Retail participants will undergo a basic examination focused on fundamental risks and highly liquid assets, such as Bitcoin, Ether, and USDT. These investors remain subject to an annual purchase cap of 300,000 rubles per intermediary. Conversely, qualified investors face more rigorous testing regarding complex instruments but operate without equivalent purchase limits. Separately, NAUFOR is drafting a distinct assessment framework for digital financial assets, where existing annual investment thresholds for retail participants remain fixed at 600,000 rubles.