Russia Greenlights Bitcoin, Ethereum, and USDT Trading for Select Investors — Here's Why XRP Didn't Make the Cut

WHY IT MATTERS

Think of this like a country deciding which foreign currencies you're allowed to exchange at banks. Russia has essentially said: 'You can trade Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Tether — the biggest and most widely used cryptocurrencies — but not everything else.' This is significant because Russia is one of the world's largest economies, and when a major country officially allows crypto trading, it adds legitimacy to those specific coins. For XRP holders, being left off the approved list is like a store refusing to accept your brand of credit card — it limits where and how you can use it. USDT, also called Tether, is a 'stablecoin,' meaning it's designed to always be worth about $1, making it useful for everyday transactions and international payments. Russia's interest in stablecoins likely ties to its need to move money across borders without relying on Western banking systems that have restricted its access.