The Bank of Russia has approved Bitcoin trading for retail investors on the country's licensed cryptocurrency exchanges, according to reports from state news agency TASS.

Citing the central bank's official Telegram channel, TASS reported that retail cryptocurrency purchases are capped at 300,000 rubles ($3,632) per year. The regulation also permits trading in other major cryptocurrencies, including Tether's USDT stablecoin, for retail investors.

"According to the law, the selection of cryptocurrencies factors in their market capitalization, average daily trading volume, and foreign exchange pricing history, which must span at least five years for each asset," TASS reported, quoting the Bank of Russia's Telegram channel.

Qualified investors will have access to a broader list of digital assets and face no limits on trading volumes, as reported earlier this month.

The retail cap reflects the central bank's long-standing caution toward cryptocurrency. The Bank of Russia proposed a blanket ban on crypto trading and mining in January 2022, citing risks to financial stability. The latest framework instead channels retail activity through regulated exchanges under an experimental legal regime, allowing oversight while limiting individual exposure.

The announcement comes amid Russia's accelerated efforts to regulate its cryptocurrency sector. President Vladimir Putin recently signed a law to regulate digital currencies and digital rights in the country. Russian regulators, lawmakers, and the central bank have been working for years to clarify the legal status of digital assets.

Putin has previously spoken about the benefits of Bitcoin and highlighted Russia's advantages in cryptocurrency mining.

However, the use of cryptocurrency as a means of payment for goods and services within Russia remains prohibited. This prohibition has been in place for years, despite Putin's seemingly favorable remarks about Bitcoin.

Russian lawmakers have carved out an exception for international payments, widely seen as a mechanism to circumvent Western sanctions. The United States and European governments severed Russia's access to the SWIFT international payments system following its invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Since then, Russian companies have been using Bitcoin to bypass these restrictions, according to statements from the country's finance minister, Reuters reported. The dual-track approach — permitting regulated investment trading domestically while enabling crypto for cross-border settlement — positions Russia alongside jurisdictions including the United Arab Emirates and Hong Kong in building structured frameworks for digital asset commerce under state supervision.