The Central Bank of Russia Considers Allowing Collective Investment Funds to Access Crypto Assets, Marking a Shift from Previous Conservative Stance.
The Central Bank of the Russian Federation (CBR) has announced plans to allow the establishment of collective investment funds to expand crypto asset access for domestic investors. According to financial news agency Prime, a senior CBR official stated that the agency will consider permitting asset management companies to create collective investment funds for professional crypto investors.
Ms. Olga Shishlyannikova, Director of the Investment Financial Intermediaries Department at CBR, said at a conference organized by the National Association of Russian Stock Market Members: "We have heard similar proposals from the brokerage community... and they have been licensed to implement."
This decision reflects a significant change in CBR's perspective compared to its previous conservative approach. In 2024-2025, the central bank has made clear shifts in its approach to the crypto asset market, including proposing to establish a legal experimental regime for coin transactions in March 2025 and issuing a circular allowing the provision of crypto derivative products to professional investors in May 2025.
Market Cautiously Reacts to New Products
Bitcoin Futures Contract trading volume in Russia reached 16 million USD in the first three weeks from June 4-27. However, Shishlyannikova noted: "Investors have not reacted too strongly. Interest primarily comes from financial institutions, not individual investors – whom companies are expecting."
Regarding the proposal to establish collective crypto investment funds, she stated: "We will consider this direction, but currently, this is not a critical issue in the collective investment market, which lacks effective investment strategies."
Although estimates suggest Russians own over 25 billion USD in crypto assets, CBR maintains its stance of not allowing even professional investors direct access to underlying crypto assets. "We have discussed and concluded that crypto derivative products may be acceptable for professional investors," Shishlyannikova said.
However, in the fund management sector, she added that "a single circular is not enough for legalization" and existing regulations need to be modified. CBR also clarified that regulatory framework adjustments are unlikely before 2026, as the 2025 regulatory plan has been approved and cannot be updated.
"Unfortunately, we cannot expand the current plan. Therefore, we will return to discussions with the market next year," she concluded. 2026 will mark other significant changes as CBR will implement a digital ruble from September 2026, along with a nationwide unified QR payment code.
Simultaneously, penalties will be applied for using Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies for goods and service payments outside the ELR framework, primarily for cross-border commercial transactions in the context of Western sanctions.
