Russia Approves Securities Group to Oversee Crypto Exchanges

Bitcoin Magazine

Russia Approves Securities Group to Oversee Crypto Exchanges

The National Association of Securities Market Participants, known as NAUFOR, has won self-regulatory organization status for digital depositories and crypto exchanges. The Central Bank of Russia made the decision on October 29, according to Interfax.

The move turns a law into a working system. Russia’s framework, “On Digital Currency and Digital Rights,” passed the State Duma in July. It requires exchange operators and depositories to sit in central bank registries, and it requires them to join an SRO. 

Interfax reports that the registry lists 23 crypto exchanges and eight digital depositories, including VTB, Sberbank, and units of T-Technologies, the holding company behind T-Bank. Firms on those registries have 90 days to join an SRO. In short, an SRO writes industry standards, monitors members, and represents the industry to regulators.

NAUFOR says it will help shape standards for digital asset markets and push the central bank on rule changes. Earlier in October, it received the same status for information system operators. The association has operated since 1996 and counts 725 members, including brokers, dealers, and fund managers from traditional markets.

Russia’s crypto legal gateway

Traditional finance built NAUFOR’s model for stocks and bonds. Placing the same body over bitcoin exchanges and custody gives the state a familiar hand on the wheel. 

Bitcoin Magazine reported in July that the law stops bitcoin from becoming money for everyday purchases. Domestic crypto payments stay banned. The law licenses exchanges and depositories, caps retail purchases, and opens a state-supervised channel for cross-border trade, a route that helps Russia move around Western sanctions.

The details matter for users. A depository would record holdings, and one reading of the framework lets it restrict transfers to personal wallets. Non-qualified retail buyers can purchase up to 300,000 rubles a year through a single intermediary, near $3,800. 

Qualified investors face higher ceilings. These choices shape who can use the platforms and how.

Earlier this fall, the Moscow Exchange reportedly began testing cryptocurrency trading with professional market participants and planned to launch trading this December. 

The exchange intended to use existing infrastructure and a partner digital depository following the introduction of Russia’s new cryptocurrency regulations in September. 

Sberbank also received approval to custody Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, while President Vladimir Putin had previously acknowledged Bitcoin’s resistance to being banned.

This post Russia Approves Securities Group to Oversee Crypto Exchanges first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.