The Central Bank introduces oversight of misselling in cryptocurrency sales: what will change for the market
The Bank of Russia has announced the launch of mandatory monitoring of misselling practices in the segment of digital currency and instrument sales. The regulator intends to strictly suppress situations where financial organizations sell one product under the guise of another or deliberately conceal material risks for the client. This statement is a direct continuation of the course toward bringing order to this new, still-forming market.
The key point: starting September 1, digital currencies become available to retail investors through licensed intermediaries. And it is precisely at this stage, in my assessment, that it is critically important for the quality of customer information to keep pace with formal admission procedures. The regulator understands this and is taking control of the process from the very start.
Control over the quality of information disclosure
Supervision will focus on how fully and honestly financial organizations disclose cryptocurrency risks to clients, not just their potential returns. The filters already built into the rules — in the form of mandatory buyer knowledge testing and limits on transaction volumes depending on the level of risk — remain in effect. However, as the regulator emphasizes, these measures do not exclude but rather complement each other. Testing and limits remove some risks at the entry point but do not guarantee that the client will be honestly informed about the product's features at the time of sale. This is precisely why the Central Bank is adding its own close oversight of seller conduct to the formal barriers.
Violations will be followed by penalties. Although the regulator itself expresses hope that it will not come to the application of sanctions, the market must recognize the seriousness of these intentions.
New rules of the game
Let me remind you that in August, a law was signed that for the first time comprehensively regulates the circulation of digital currencies and digital rights in Russia. It establishes operating rules for crypto exchanges, depositories, and all market participants, and also defines the conditions for purchasing assets for investors. The regulation covers the organization of circulation, accounting, custody, mining, and issuance of digital rights.
The established limit for non-qualified buyers — 300,000 rubles per year per intermediary — has already sparked discussions. Some experts note that distributing transactions across different licensed platforms remains a legal way to circumvent this restriction. At the same time, industry specialists call the law more an institutionalization of the market than its legalization in a consumer sense. The Central Bank's by-laws — testing criteria, registry procedures, requirements for depositories — will determine the actual strictness of the rules more than the text of the law itself.
There are also controversial provisions. For example, an article allowing digital currency to be provided as a loan only to a limited circle of persons — crypto brokers, trust managers, exchanges, and clearing organizations. Miners and private holders of large portfolios have fallen outside this list, which raises questions among market participants.
My view: The introduction of misselling oversight is a logical and timely step. Without it, formal barriers to market entry would be merely a bureaucratic facade. Now the regulator has a tool to ensure that the retail investor enters the game understanding the rules and risks. The only question is how effectively this tool will be applied in practice and whether excessive strictness will stifle the emerging legal offering.