The central bank's draft rules recognise digital currencies as capital, but treat anything outside its approved perimeter as pure risk.
The Bank of Russia published the draft instruction on 14 August, setting out how brokers, asset managers, forex dealers and standalone digital currency exchange organisations should factor digital currencies into their capital calculations.
Under the draft, brokers, managers and forex dealers can count digital currencies toward their own funds, but only up to 25% of the qualifying total, and only if those currencies are admitted to organised trading on a Russian venue and held on an account with a Russian digital depositary.
In practice, that currently means Bitcoin, Ethereum and USDT - the only digital currencies the Bank of Russia has so far authorised for exchange trading, though qualified investors face no such restriction.
Firms can still hold other digital currencies on their balance sheet; those simply are not counted toward this particular calculation. However there is a separate rule that treats them very differently, when it comes to the mandatory capital adequacy ratio.
A Second 25% Line, This Time a Penalty
A separate rule applies to the mandatory capital adequacy ratio. If a firm's net holdings of listed digital currencies exceed 25% of its capital, the excess is deducted as a concentration penalty.
Holdings of digital currencies not admitted to organised trading are treated differently again: they are deducted from capital in full, regardless of size, rather than counted as an asset at all.
For risk-weighting purposes, those unlisted positions carry a default 100% coefficient, assuming the position could lose its entire value. Listed digital currencies use a clearing organisation's own risk rate, doubled.
Part of a Fast-Moving Sequence
The draft follows Federal Law No. 282-FZ, which the State Duma adopted on 21 July and which was signed on 4 August.
The law defines the market's core infrastructure, including digital currency exchange organisations and digital depositaries, and gives the Bank of Russia authority to set requirements such as this draft.
Most of its provisions take effect on 1 September 2026, though some, including licensing requirements for exchanges and custodians, apply from 1 July 2027.
It followed the Bank of Russia's approval on 9 July of a new Basic Standard allowing licensed forex dealers to offer crypto CFDs to qualified investors.
The Bank of Russia is accepting comments on the draft until 29 August; if adopted without changes, the rules would take effect 10 days after official publication.
This article was written by Tanya Chepkova at www.financemagnates.com.
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