Sanctions push Russia toward a tighter, broader crypto rulebook

Russia’s central bank has drawn up a new regulatory blueprint for cryptocurrencies that would open the domestic market to retail investors alongside professionals, underscoring how Western sanctions have forced a rethink of the country’s once-hostile stance toward digital assets.

According to Bloomberg News, citing the Bank of Russia, nonqualified investors would be permitted to purchase the most actively traded cryptocurrencies after passing a basic knowledge exam. Annual transactions will be capped at 300,000 rubles (around $3,800) through a single intermediary.

Qualified investors, by contrast, would face no limits on purchases of most cryptocurrencies—excluding anonymous tokens—once they complete a risk-awareness test.

The central bank has submitted the framework to the government, alongside proposed legislative amendments, with the goal of regulating crypto trading by July 1 next year. While enforcement details remain unclear, the plan represents another notable pivot for a regulator that once sought to stamp out digital assets entirely.

In January 2022—just weeks before Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine—the Bank of Russia called for an outright ban on the issuance and use of cryptocurrencies, warning they threatened financial stability and likening them to pyramid schemes.

Despite the softer tone, the watchdog stressed it remains cautious. “The Bank of Russia still considers cryptocurrencies to be high-risk assets,” it said, warning

If adopted, crypto transactions would run through existing licensed channels, including exchanges, brokers and trust managers, with separate standards for custodians and trading platforms. Russian residents would also be allowed to buy cryptocurrencies abroad and transfer them via domestic intermediaries, subject to tax disclosure rules.

The shift builds on steps taken in 2024, when authorities eased restrictions on crypto use for businesses. Even without comprehensive regulation, Russian individuals and companies have increasingly used digital assets for cross-border payments—a trend that accelerated after sanctions cut off many major banks from the global financial system in 2022.

Russia has prohibited the use of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as legal tender within its borders, requiring all domestic payments to be conducted exclusively in rubles, according to government policy statements.