Russia Drafts Bill To Restrict Nonprofessional Investors From Buying Foreign Stablecoins

Russia's final version of a crypto regulation bill adds new restrictions that would bar nonprofessional investors from buying foreign stablecoins, a group that covers most of the country's residents. According to Odaily, the bill introduces the concepts of "foreign digital tools" and "non-deliverable foreign digital tools," with asset-backed stablecoins classified under the latter. Qualified investors would be allowed to buy foreign digital tools, while nonqualified investors could only purchase specific assets on the central bank's special list. The Russian central bank proposed a stablecoin regulatory framework at the end of June, requiring all transactions to take place under state control and to be completed through exchanges or legal conversion points. Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina previously said she was cautious about foreign stablecoins because their issuers could freeze assets in users' wallets.