Russia has approved Bitcoin, Ethereum, and the Tether USDT stablecoin for public trading on exchanges under new central bank trading rules. According to a new proposal by the Bank of Russia, the framework would allow both retail and qualified investors to trade crypto through regulated intermediaries, while imposing additional restrictions on non-qualified investors.

Russia has been moving quickly to establish new trading rules for cryptocurrency in the last month, looking to jump ahead in the crypto sector. The latest proposal follows legislation signed by President Vladimir Putin on August 4. That law establishes rules for cryptocurrency circulation in Russia, including purchases through licensed intermediaries, exchange trading, clearing and digital asset depositories.

The country’s Central Bank has identified Bitcoin, Ether and Tether as the assets targeted for access under the initial trading framework, based on liquidity and market characteristics. The broader law does not limit qualified investors to those three assets. Qualified investors would be able to trade other cryptocurrencies subject to the regulatory framework. Foreign stablecoins would generally be subject to the same regulatory requirements as other cryptocurrencies under the new framework.

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Furthermore, Russia has embraced the crypto industry in the last year, with private banks in the country beginning to offer crypto services. The move to legalize crypto trading would be a big change of tune for Russia, which had previously ruled Bitcoin and ETH as not real forms of currency. With the change of tune, Russia has quickly established itself as a premier crypto market in Eastern Europe, while offering a potential workaround to Western banking restrictions.