Bank of Russia Bars Mutual Funds From Investing in Crypto

The Bank of Russia, the country’s chief financial regulator, issued new rules for the country’s mutual funds in a directive published Monday.

• Such funds cannot invest in digital currencies or in “financial instruments, the value of which depends on the prices of digital currencies.”
• In July, the regulator banned Russia’s stock exchanges from listing financial instruments that are dependent on the prices of digital assets. That letter, dated July 19, said mutual funds should not touch such products, either.
• The Bank of Russia is currently working on a Russian ruble-backed central bank digital currency (CBDC). The regulator earlier planned to launch a CBDC pilot program in December, but the deadline has recently been moved. In November, the central bank’s governor, Elvira Nabiullina, told Reuters the prototype will be created in “early 2022″ and then the digital ruble will be in a pilot program before making a decision if it should be launched in production.