Russia has established a set of common testing standards for cryptocurrency investors, and it is expected that brokerage companies will be among the first to be regulated intermediaries, with their qualifications being assessed before they are allowed to allow customers to buy and sell digital assets.

According to Russian media RBC, Elena Andreyeva (Ekaterina Andreeva), the First Vice President of the National Association of Participants in the Russian Securities Market (NAUFOR), announced this progress on Crypto Summit 2026, and confirmed that brokers could start testing as early as the end of November.

The proposed system will allow investors to use the results obtained from one licensed institution for testing on other regulated cryptocurrency platforms, without having to retake the tests each time they switch to another licensed service.

Andreyeva stated that the relevant draft standards were submitted last week to the committee of the Russian Central Bank responsible for reviewing basic standards. Once the standards are published, it is expected that they will set unified requirements and procedures for brokers, cryptocurrency exchanges, and other licensed intermediaries.

Russian encryption testing standards are closer to implementation

This testing framework is part of Russia's new cryptocurrency regulations. The relevant rules came into effect on September 1st in accordance with Federal Law No. 282- FZ, the "Digital Currencies and Digital Rights Act."

As previously reported by crypto.news, this legislation establishes a regulated cryptocurrency trading and custody market that allows qualified and unqualified investors to access digital assets through authorized intermediaries.

The law recognizes various types of service providers, including cryptocurrency exchanges, brokers, exchange operators, asset management companies, and digital custodian institutions.

Investors must complete identity verification before using regulated services, while purchasing or trading cryptocurrencies requires passing a knowledge test.

Under the new architecture, digital custodian institutions are responsible for the custody of cryptocurrencies, while other licensed intermediaries provide trading, exchange, and investment services.

Andreyeva stated that the brokerage firm expects to obtain permission to test with clients by the end of November, thereby becoming one of the first institutions to implement this standard.

She explained that the industry is expected to adopt a unified testing system, which means that investors only need to complete the assessment through one intermediary institution, and the results will be recognized by other regulated platforms as well.

Once the standards are published, cryptocurrency exchanges, exchange operators, and digital custodian institutions will be able to review the relevant issues and testing processes.

NAUFOR It is expected that the evaluation process and question bank will be consistent across these services.

How will Russia test to qualify retail crypto investors?

Russian testing requirements will apply to both qualified and unqualified investors, however, the Russian Central Bank plans to adopt different assessment methods for these two groups of people.

Mikhail Mamuta, the deputy governor of the Russian Central Bank ( Mikhail Mamuta ), previously explained that non-qualified investors will have to take a basic exam covering the risks of cryptocurrencies as well as the characteristics of assets accessible to ordinary retail customers.

Their investment choices will follow a whitelist approach, limited to a group of highly liquid cryptocurrencies that are permitted for use in regulated transactions.

In August this year, the central bank proposed to allow Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Tether USDT to be traded through licensed exchanges, but regulatory authorities still retain the final decision on which assets can be included.

Non-qualified investors may purchase qualified cryptocurrencies worth up to 300,000 rubles per year through each intermediary institution, after passing the necessary assessments.

Qualified investors do not have a corresponding purchase limit and have access to a wider range of digital assets, but they still need to prove that they understand the risks associated with cryptocurrencies.

Mumuta stated that therefore, their exams should place more emphasis on the more complex investment risks and the characteristics of high-risk assets.

This distinction is related to the adjustment of Russia's investor classification system. In August, the Russian Central Bank introduced a new qualification pathway that allows individuals to obtain the status of qualified investors by passing an approved financial knowledge exam.

The cryptocurrency knowledge test, which must be completed before evaluating the qualification to trade digital assets, is separate from it.

Independent testing rules for digital financial assets are also being established.

NAUFOR is still preparing another independent evaluation framework for investors purchasing digital financial assets, which are commonly referred to as CFA in Russia.

Andreyeva stated that discussions regarding the exam structure, the number of questions, and the assessment methods are still ongoing.

Russia has already implemented different investment restrictions for qualified and unqualified investors in the digital financial assets market.

Qualified investors have access to a wide range of such tools, while retail participants are usually limited to products with high credit quality and whose returns do not vary with various factors.

Non-qualified investors can purchase certain digital financial assets that offer floating returns, but their investments are subject to a cap of 600,000 rubles per year and other restrictions.

In June 2025, the Central Bank of Russia proposed to raise the annual limit for non-qualified investors from 600,000 rubles to 1,000,000 rubles.

However, the regulatory authorities ultimately abandoned this proposal and decided to maintain the existing thresholds unchanged.