Bank of Russia Bars Mutual Funds From Investing in Crypto
In a new directive, the regulator prohibited Russian mutual funds from directly or indirectly investing in crypto assets.
Dec 13, 2021 at 6:18 p.m. UTCUpdated May 11, 2023 at 6:15 p.m. UTC
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The Bank of Russia, the country’s chief financial regulator, issued new rules for the country’s mutual funds in a directive published Monday.
- Such funds cannot invest in digital currencies or in “financial instruments, the value of which depends on the prices of digital currencies.”
- In July, the regulator banned Russia’s stock exchanges from listing financial instruments that are dependent on the prices of digital assets. That letter, dated July 19, said mutual funds should not touch such products, either.
- The Bank of Russia is currently working on a Russian ruble-backed central bank digital currency (CBDC). The regulator earlier planned to launch a CBDC pilot program in December, but the deadline has recently been moved. In November, the central bank’s governor, Elvira Nabiullina, told Reuters the prototype will be created in “early 2022″ and then the digital ruble will be in a pilot program before making a decision if it should be launched in production.
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Anna Baydakova was CoinDesk's investigative reporter with a special focus on Eastern Europe and Russia. Anna owns BTC and an NFT.