Russian crypto regulation set for July rollout, says top lawmaker

Moscow will roll out long-awaited Russian crypto regulation in July, allowing both retail and institutional investors to buy Bitcoin by mid-2027, according to the chief architect of a new financial law.

A comprehensive legislative framework will be ready for State Duma lawmakers to vote on at the end of June, Anatoly Aksakov, the head of the State Duma’s Committee on the Financial Markets, told Russia’s Parliamentary Gazette.

The law will include regulations for crypto exchanges, which currently operate in a quasi-legal grey zone, Aksakov said. Under the law, unregistered crypto exchange operators could face fines or jail time, mirroring Russian laws on illegal banking activities.

Assuming lawmakers approve the bill, it will come into force on July 1, 2027, Aksakov said.

Crypto is playing an increasingly important role in Russia, a fact that has forced the crypto-skeptic central bank into a U-turn.

Major banks envisage a future whereby crypto provides citizens with more investment options, while Russian traders want to use crypto to make dollar-free cross-border transactions.

Regulation roll-out

Russian crypto regulation has been stuck in the pipeline for years, lagging behind much of the rest of the world due to a long-standing impasse between the central bank and the finance ministry.

The ministry advocated regulating and taxing crypto trading, while the bank called for a China-style ban. The bank plans to unveil the digital ruble, its central bank digital currency, nationwide in September this year.

But the evolution of digital finance and the realities of US, EU, and UK-led sanctions regimes have left Russia frozen out of dollar-denominated trade. Crypto has let companies side-step these sanctions, leading the central bank to abandon its anti-crypto stance.

Commercial banks also say their clients want access to “real crypto,” rather than the derivative products they currently offer.

Aksakov said retail investors will need to pass an eligibility test before they can trade crypto. Lawmakers have also discussed placing an annual $4,000 cap on retail investors’ crypto purchases.

Experts say the new law will restrict the types of crypto retail investors can buy.

“The central bank will most likely compile a list of the top five or 10 highest-cap cryptocurrencies on major crypto exchanges,” Alexandra Fedotova, a lawyer at the law firm White Stone Consulting, told Parliamentary Gazette.

“That list will definitely include Bitcoin and Ethereum. It might also include Solana and Toncoin, given their popularity in Russia.”

Only “qualified investors” will be able to buy or sell coins that do not appear on the central bank’s list, Fedotova said.

The lawyer also said she expected policymakers to “single out stablecoins as a tool for foreign economic activity.”

She said the Tether-issued coin USDT, which is pegged 1:1 with the US dollar, will “become a digital dollar for companies, with purchases only permitted via licensed brokerages.”

Tim Alper is a News Correspondent at DL News. Got a tip? Email at tdalper@dlnews.com.