Crypto got two doors this week: one opened, one shut
The Bank of Russia's retail opening and OFAC's designations under Operation Economic Outcast show the same asset being pulled into the regulated system and pushed out of the illicit one.
- The Bank of Russia has approved Bitcoin, Ether and USDT for purchase by non-qualified investors, with the ordinance taking effect on November 17, 2026, and purchases capped at ₽300,000 per year through a single intermediary. m:…9768
- On November 6, 2026, OFAC designated eight Canada-based money services businesses that allegedly facilitated transactions with sanctioned Iranian digital asset exchanges and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. m:…6443
- Million Exchange, one of the designated businesses, received $120.7 million and sent $121.8 million between January 2025 and February 2026. m:…6443
- The Basel Committee is consulting on amendments to the Basel Framework, and the US OCC has issued a supervisory framework on banks' use of super intelligence. m:…1634
The opening
The Bank of Russia has approved a list of cryptocurrencies available to non-qualified investors. The approved cryptocurrencies include Bitcoin, Ether and USDT, and the ordinance regarding access for non-qualified investors takes effect on November 17, 2026. Ordinary investors will be able to buy through brokers, trust managers and crypto exchange offices, in both exchange and over-the-counter markets. m:…9768
The opening comes with guardrails. Purchases through a single intermediary by a non-qualified investor may not exceed ₽300,000 per year, and investors must pass a test and review risk disclosures before conducting a cryptocurrency transaction. Qualified investors have access to all cryptoassets without any restrictions. The structure is deliberate: retail access, but capped, tested and routed through authorised intermediaries. m:…9768
The shutting
On the same week, the United States closed a different door. On November 6, 2026, the US Office of Foreign Assets Control designated eight Canada-based money services businesses under Executive Order 13902, in an action called Operation Economic Outcast. The designated businesses facilitated transactions with sanctioned Iranian digital asset exchanges and addresses associated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. OFAC listed six TRON addresses across four of the eight designees. m:…6443
The scale of the flows is what made the businesses worth designating. Million Exchange received $120.7 million and sent $121.8 million between January 2025 and February 2026. Several of the designated businesses worked with drug trafficker Ryan Wedding to launder drug proceeds. Amin Exchange, Million Exchange and NIA Nations moved at least $1.9 million among themselves between June 2025 and August 2026, and CCC Inc received at least $300,000 from both the IRGC and Zedcex. The SDN entries for the designated businesses carry a secondary sanctions risk warning under Section 2 of Executive Order 13902, which puts counterparties on notice as well. m:…6443
The designations also reach beyond the eight businesses. The SDN entries for the designated businesses carry a secondary sanctions risk warning under Section 2 of Executive Order 13902, which puts any bank, broker or exchange that deals with them at risk of being cut off as well. The network the businesses plug into is large: NIA Nations transacted with sanctioned Iranian exchanges including Nobitex, Ramzinex, Amin Exchange, Jamali Exchange, Bit Pin, Wallex.ir and Payeer. The enforcement theory is straightforward. The businesses themselves are small, but the flows they carried were not, and the warning is aimed at everyone downstream of them. m:…6443
The regulators are writing the rest of the rules
Beyond the two headline actions, the week's regulatory update from BBVA Research shows supervisors filling in the framework around both crypto and AI in finance. The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision is consulting on consequential amendments to the Basel Framework. The European Banking Authority has published revised guidelines on internal governance, and the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority has issued final advice regarding insurers' corporate disclosure under the EU Taxonomy. m:…1634
The most striking item in the update is American: the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has issued a supervisory framework regarding the use of super intelligence by banks. The PRA and FCA are consulting on reforms for credit unions. Taken together, the week reads as a single pattern. Regulators are not deciding whether crypto and advanced AI belong in finance. They are deciding who gets to use them, through which intermediaries, and under what test. m:…1634
What is still unresolved
- Whether the ₽300,000 annual cap per intermediary keeps Russian retail exposure small in practice, or whether investors simply spread purchases across intermediaries.
- Whether the OFAC designations disrupt the networks they target or displace the flows to other businesses and addresses.
- What the OCC's supervisory framework for banks' use of super intelligence will require in practice, beyond the fact of its issuance.
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