Russian President Vladimir Putin signed the law "On Digital Currencies and Digital Rights," the first comprehensive regulation of the crypto market in Russia. The document recognizes digital currencies as property and grants judicial protection of rights to them, but cryptocurrency remains only an investment instrument: paying for goods and services with it in the country is prohibited, as is advertising such payments.
Only licensed intermediaries — exchanges, brokers, management companies, and new market players: crypto exchangers and digital depositories responsible for accounting and storage of assets — will be allowed to organize cryptocurrency circulation. Only a Russian business entity with capital of at least 15 million rubles and included in the Central Bank's registry can become an exchanger. Until July 1, 2027, they will be allowed to operate without being included in the registry.
Only cryptocurrencies meeting the Central Bank's criteria will be admitted to public exchange trading: average capitalization above 5 trillion rubles and average daily turnover above 1 trillion rubles over two years. First Deputy Chairman of the Central Bank Vladimir Chistyukhin earlier said that bitcoin, ether, and the USDT stablecoin meet the requirements.
Individuals will have to pass testing to buy crypto. For non-qualified investors, the Central Bank will set a limit — the regulator named a threshold of 300,000 rubles per year through one intermediary. For qualified investors, there are no restrictions. Assets can only be stored through custodial wallets, where private keys are held by the exchange or service, while "cold" wallets are allowed for participants in foreign economic activity.
The main exception to the ban on payments is made for participants in foreign economic activity: they will be allowed to pay with cryptocurrency under foreign trade contracts. In addition, crypto can be used to pay mining rewards, network fees, as well as securities and other digital assets.
The main part of the law will come into force on September 1, 2026. The requirement to conduct transactions only through licensed intermediaries will take effect on July 1, 2027. A separate block regulates mining — for a number of persons with unexpunged criminal records, a ban on mining is introduced.
Liability for violations is not spelled out in the law itself — it is introduced by two separate bills that have so far passed only the first reading in the State Duma. Amendments to the Code of Administrative Offenses introduce fines for crypto exchangers working with non-qualified investors beyond the limits, up to 1 million rubles for legal entities. A new article 171.7 of the Criminal Code establishes criminal liability for organizing cryptocurrency circulation without a license; such cases will be investigated by the Investigative Committee and the FSB.
According to The Moscow Times RU, Sberbank, T-Bank, Alfa-Bank, and VTB have publicly announced plans to create a digital depository. Sber intends to launch infrastructure for crypto trading by December 1, 2026, and T-Bank plans to bring the ability to buy crypto assets into its mobile app by the end of the year. The Moscow Exchange and SPB Exchange also announced plans to launch cryptocurrency trading.