Anatoly Aksakov, head of Russia's State Duma Financial Market Committee, has confirmed that a comprehensive crypto regulation bill will go to a vote in late June, with the legislation set to take effect on 1 July 2027. The proposal covers mandatory exchange registration and licensing, investor limits, and rules for mining and distribution — while maintaining the ban on cryptocurrencies as domestic payment instruments.
Non-qualified investors will be limited to purchasing a maximum of 300,000 rubles (approximately $3,800) worth of cryptocurrency per year per intermediary, restricted to the most liquid assets approved by the Central Bank — lawyer Alexandra Fedotova of White Stone estimates the Bank will approve 5–10 major cryptocurrencies, certainly including BTC and ETH, with SOL and TON also potential candidates. Privacy-focused tokens such as Monero, Zcash, and Dash will be excluded from retail markets on anti-money-laundering grounds. Qualified investors will receive broader access but must pass mandatory risk testing. Russian traders may continue purchasing crypto from international platforms and transferring assets to domestic exchanges, provided they report such transactions to the tax authorities. The Central Bank's regulatory concept, submitted in December, defines digital currencies as tradeable assets while emphasising volatility and sanctions exposure risks. Anton Gorelkin, first deputy chairman of the Duma's Information Technology Committee, highlighted that fraudsters are increasingly using foreign — particularly Belarusian — crypto exchanges to defraud Russian citizens, underscoring the need to legalise domestic exchanges. Sberbank deputy chairman Stanislav Kuznetsov added that without crypto market regulation it is impossible to block stolen fund withdrawal channels — noting that financial pyramid schemes posing as crypto brokers defraud Russian citizens of an average of 1 billion rubles each.
Operators running unlicensed exchanges will face penalties similar to those for illegal banking operations, while already-licensed exchanges and brokers will be permitted to continue operating within the new framework.
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