Bank of Russia Sets Bitcoin, Ether, USDT Rules Effective Nov. 17

The significance here is less the approval itself than the structure: Russia is opening crypto access through a gated, test-and-cap model rather than an open market, which places the burden on intermediaries to police both suitability and purchase limits. That design matters most for retail participants and for the Moscow Exchange, which must build compliance into its rollout timeline. The open question is whether the testing requirement and the annual cap function as genuine guardrails or simply channel demand through multiple intermediaries.