Russia’s crypto industry may enter legal operation before the end of the year.
Vladimir Chistyukhin, the deputy head of the Central Bank, said that regulation is being rolled out according to plan. What is being done now is drafting subordinate rules—an enormous undertaking. Fine-tuning internal details may be completed by the end of 2026. Judging from the timetable, the pace of progress is somewhat faster than outside observers expected.
The framework is already taking shape. In August, Putin signed laws on digital currency and digital rights. The central bank has approved that the public can participate in bitcoin trading on domestic exchanges; non-accredited investors may purchase assets up to 300,000 rubles via an intermediary, while accredited investors have no transaction limit. By tiering the limits, regulation can first clearly see who is buying.
Banks are also moving in. Russia’s largest bank plans to launch a crypto wallet and digital asset custody in December, and expects that transaction volume in the first year will reach 4 trillion rubles, about $47 billion. Once custody and wallets are in place, the number of people indirectly holding crypto will increase, and the scope of entities that regulators must cover will broaden accordingly.
The boundaries are also clear. Using digital assets for payments within the country, or as legal tender, has been prohibited since 2022—only international settlement remains an opening. After 2022 severed the connection with SWIFT, cross-border payments have been the most practical need here. The purpose of this opening will most likely continue to be trade settlement.
Allowed to hold, restricted in use—these rules are trying to retain not payments, but capital.
#俄罗斯 #Crypto regulation
Vladimir Chistyukhin, the deputy head of the Central Bank, said that regulation is being rolled out according to plan. What is being done now is drafting subordinate rules—an enormous undertaking. Fine-tuning internal details may be completed by the end of 2026. Judging from the timetable, the pace of progress is somewhat faster than outside observers expected.
The framework is already taking shape. In August, Putin signed laws on digital currency and digital rights. The central bank has approved that the public can participate in bitcoin trading on domestic exchanges; non-accredited investors may purchase assets up to 300,000 rubles via an intermediary, while accredited investors have no transaction limit. By tiering the limits, regulation can first clearly see who is buying.
Banks are also moving in. Russia’s largest bank plans to launch a crypto wallet and digital asset custody in December, and expects that transaction volume in the first year will reach 4 trillion rubles, about $47 billion. Once custody and wallets are in place, the number of people indirectly holding crypto will increase, and the scope of entities that regulators must cover will broaden accordingly.
The boundaries are also clear. Using digital assets for payments within the country, or as legal tender, has been prohibited since 2022—only international settlement remains an opening. After 2022 severed the connection with SWIFT, cross-border payments have been the most practical need here. The purpose of this opening will most likely continue to be trade settlement.
Allowed to hold, restricted in use—these rules are trying to retain not payments, but capital.
#俄罗斯 #Crypto regulation
