The Central Bank of Russia has released the first draft regulation for digital assets

According to The Block, the Central Bank of Russia has released a regulatory draft for "organized trading" of digital assets and digital rights, aiming to set access and operational rules for cryptocurrency exchanges and digital custodians. The draft requires exchanges to determine trading processes through their own rulebooks and to calculate market prices and weighted average prices; it proposes the establishment of digital custodians responsible for bookkeeping, with registered capital ranging from 50 million to 250 million rubles, and must involve high liquidity and high credit quality assets.

Electronic platform operators must also meet similar capital requirements and undertake the settlement functions of nominal accounts for digital financial assets. This draft has entered the regulatory impact assessment stage, connecting with the previously passed cryptocurrency market bill, and continues to provide a framework for compliant retail trading while prohibiting cryptocurrency payments within the country.