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🇷🇺 RUSSIA IS MOVING CRYPTO CLOSER TO TRADITIONAL FINANCE The biggest part of Russia's new crypto framework isn't simply that Bitcoin, Ethereum and USDT can now be traded through regulated channels. The bigger story is infrastructure. As of September 1, Russia's new framework brings crypto trading and custody into a formal regulatory structure under Bank of Russia supervision. BTC, ETH and USDT are among the assets initially available through regulated channels. That creates something crypto has been building toward for years: A clearer bridge between digital assets and traditional finance. Think about the progression. First, Bitcoin was treated primarily as a speculative asset. Then came institutional custody. Then ETFs. Then corporate treasury adoption. Now we're seeing major financial institutions prepare regulated trading and even crypto-backed lending infrastructure. Sberbank, Russia's largest bank, has said it plans to accept BTC, ETH and USDT as loan collateral, subject to regulatory approval for the relevant assets. That's a very different narrative from simply “people are buying crypto.” It suggests crypto is gradually becoming something financial institutions can hold, trade, custody and potentially use as collateral. And that could be more important than any single day's price movement. There is another interesting signal. Sberbank has estimated that Russia's regulated crypto market could generate roughly 3.5–4 trillion rubles, around $46B, in trading volume during its first year. That number should not be interpreted as $46B of fresh money flowing directly into BTC. It's an estimate of potential regulated trading activity. But it still shows how seriously traditional financial institutions are beginning to view the market. And the initial asset selection is interesting too. BTC → digital monetary asset ETH → blockchain financial infrastructure USDT → stablecoin liquidity Those three assets cover very different parts of the crypto economy. Russia isn't opening the door to every token at once.