Foreign stablecoins, including USDT and USDC, may become available to qualified investors through Russian infrastructure starting September 1, 2026. This infrastructure is being created for the organized circulation of digital currencies. Along with them, investors will be able to purchase other foreign non-deliverable digital instruments.
This opportunity is included in amendments for the second reading of government bill 1194918-8 on digital currencies and digital rights. The amendments were prepared by the State Duma Committee on the Financial Market.
What Is Changing in the Regulation of Digital Currencies
In the version approved in the first reading, the bill effectively brings cryptocurrency circulation in Russia into the legal field. Citizens and companies will be able to buy and sell digital assets through licensed market participants: digital currency exchange operators from the Bank of Russia’s registry, brokers, and trust managers.
Certain cryptocurrencies may also be admitted to organized exchange trading. For this, the coin must meet several strict conditions at once:
- Average capitalization over the past two years — more than 5 trillion rubles
- Average daily trading volume — over 1 trillion rubles
- History of trading on a licensed foreign exchange — at least five years
According to previous reports, only Bitcoin and Ethereum meet these criteria. For most other digital assets, the path to the organized market will be more difficult.
Why USDT and USDC Are Placed in a Separate Category
Payment stablecoins like USDT and USDC may not fit the Russian definition of digital currency. According to the bill, a cryptocurrency is an asset for which there is no person obligated to the holder. The largest stablecoins, on the contrary, have issuers:
- Tether Limited issues USDT
- Circle issues USDC
- Issuers undertake obligations to maintain the value of tokens and redeem them
That is why two new concepts have been added to the bill for the second reading: foreign digital instrument and non-deliverable foreign digital instrument. The first describes property in the form of contractual and other rights, placed under foreign law in a foreign information system. Foreign securities are excluded from this category: for example, a bond should not fall under this regime.
A non-deliverable foreign digital instrument certifies only monetary claims and provides for settlements without the transfer of the underlying asset. In other words, the holder receives the right to monetary redemption, but not to the delivery of any goods, securities, or other objects.
According to a person familiar with the discussion of the amendments, secured foreign stablecoins fit this description. Their holder can demand redemption of the token at face value in money, while the stablecoin itself is not considered a security, and its buyback is not related to the transfer of the underlying asset.
What Types of Stablecoins Exist and How They Differ
A stablecoin is a digital token whose value is kept close to a chosen benchmark: a fiat currency, crypto asset, or other asset. The most well-known stablecoin is considered to be USDT: it is widely used in settlements and holds the largest market share along with USDC.
The main examples differ in issuance model and backing:
- USDT — Tether’s stablecoin pegged to the US dollar
- USDC — Circle’s dollar stablecoin with a similar pegging logic
- DAI — MakerDAO project stablecoin, which relies on crypto collateral
- EURT and EUROC — examples of stablecoins pegged to the euro; their share is noticeably smaller than that of dollar tokens
By type, stablecoins are usually divided into fiat-backed, crypto-backed, and algorithmic. Fiat-backed stablecoins maintain their peg through reserves in regular currencies, crypto-backed use collateral in digital assets, and algorithmic ones try to maintain the rate through rules for issuing and redeeming tokens.
Buying, Yield, and Risks of Stablecoins
Stablecoins are usually purchased through crypto exchanges, P2P platforms, and exchangers. The general logic is simple: the user selects the desired token, payment method, and the wallet or account where the asset should be credited. In the Russian model, for foreign digital instruments, the key filter will be the status of a qualified investor, unless the Bank of Russia allows public circulation of a specific instrument.
Earnings on stablecoins are more often associated with staking, farming, arbitrage, and providing liquidity. At the same time, stability is not guaranteed: the main risks are loss of peg to the base currency, insufficient backing, redemption problems, and regulatory restrictions.
In Russia, the approach is built around admission through regulated infrastructure and restrictions for non-qualified investors. In the US, regulation is more focused on issuers, reserves, and requirements for the circulation of such tokens.
The Central Bank’s Position and the Role of Stablecoins in Settlements
In a report for public consultation published in June 2026, the Central Bank classified secured stablecoins issued abroad, including USDT and USDC, as foreign digital rights, not cryptocurrencies. According to the regulator, these two instruments account for about 89% of the global stablecoin market.
The Central Bank also drew attention to the growth in the use of stablecoins in cross-border settlements. The reason is simple: such transfers are fast and cost less than traditional banking routes. Settlements between companies in USDT can take just a few minutes, while a transfer via SWIFT and a chain of correspondent banks can take more than five days.
Another difference from many cryptocurrencies is lower volatility. Backed by fiat currency, that is, fiduciary money, stablecoins usually stay closer to their peg and only occasionally deviate significantly from it. The regulator cited examples: the USDT rate briefly deviated from its benchmark by about 3.7% in 2018 and 4.2% in 2020.
For such instruments, the connection to the monetary denomination is important: the redemption currency, as a rule, determines the holder’s expectations, and the US dollar remains the key benchmark for the largest stablecoins. At the same time, a token on the blockchain does not become a classic security just because it can be reflected as an asset in the owner’s accounting.
Who Will Be Able to Buy Foreign Digital Instruments
Foreign digital instruments will be available for purchase by qualified investors. For non-qualified investors, access will be closed unless the Bank of Russia includes a specific instrument in a special list permitted for public circulation.
Restrictions will not apply in cases where such instruments are used for settlements under foreign trade contracts. This is an important caveat for businesses seeking faster and more flexible international payment methods.
In addition to stablecoins, other settlement products issued under foreign law may also be classified as non-deliverable foreign digital instruments. Their yield may be linked to the value of foreign assets or indices, but without the transfer of the underlying asset itself.
