In Brief:
- Bank of Russia issued regulation of mutual fund investment opportunities.
- The Bank of Russia recommended in July that asset managers exclude cryptocurrencies from mutual fund exposure.
- The current fund can be marketed to ordinary investors.
The Bank of Russia issued an official statement on Monday regarding the regulation of mutual funds investment opportunities.
The Russian central bank has maintained its tight stance on the cryptocurrency business, with mutual funds now explicitly prohibited from investing in cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin (BTC) for a very long time now.
Although the legislation broadens the types of assets in which mutual funds can invest, it prevents fund managers from buying cryptocurrency and other digital assets.
The following statement was made in a block post by the bank, “the property of open-ended mutual funds can be invested in settlement derivative financial instruments, the value of which depends on the change in the value of exchange commodities.” Mutual funds are not permitted to provide crypto exposure to qualified or unqualified investors, according to the statement.
In July 2021, the Bank of Russia suggested that asset managers prohibit cryptocurrency from mutual fund exposure. Despite the lack of a legal ban, there have been no Russian mutual funds with crypto exposure, according to a report by local news agency RBC.
According to Sber’s asset management chief Vasily Illarionov, Russia’s largest bank aimed to introduce a blockchain-focused ETF. The ETF was dubbed “Blockchain Economy” and will invest in blockchain-related stocks.
The fund, according to Illarionov, is not subject to Bank of Russia limitations and can be marketed to ordinary investors.
Previously in September, the Russian Central Bank collaborated with commercial banks to postpone payment in cryptocurrency exchanges and this affected the peer-to-peer and over-the-counter trading platforms.
