Russia allows bitcoin derivatives to qualified investors
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Gradually, Russia begins to open to the cryptoactive market.
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The authorities warn to have a lot of caution on these investments.
The Central Bank of Russia has announced that it will allow financial institutions to offer qualified investors linked to the price of cryptocurrencies. These instruments may include financial derivatives, values and digital assets such as Bitcoin (BTC), but with a key condition: they must be “not deliverable”, that is, they will not grant direct possession of cryptoactive ones, but only exposure to their market behavior.
This decision marks an important step in the regulated market opening in Russia. The objective of the Central Bank is to allow some interaction with this emerging sector without putting the stability of the financial system at risk.
Credit entities, meanwhile, must adopt a conservative position against these instruments. According to the statement of the Bank of Russia, they are recommended to completely cover the risk with their own capital and establish individual limits for use.
In the course of the year, the institution plans to formalize these guidelines with new regulations. Despite this flexibility, The authorities maintain a firm warning against direct investments in cryptocurrencies.
In parallel, the government evaluates a proposal from the Central Bank to launch an experimental regime where only certain groups of investors, considered highly qualified, can operate with cryptocurrencies.
After the announcement of the Central Bank, some of the main Russian financial institutions have already begun to move. Sberbank, the country’s largest state bank, plans to issue structured bonds whose yields will be tied to the evolution of cryptoactive price.
For its part, the Moscow stock market will report that Bitcoin’s futures will launch with cash settlement from June, while the St. Petersburg Stock Exchange is developing its own roadmap to introduce similar financial products linked to the ecosystem.
