Starting September 1, rules will take effect for investors, exchanges, trading platforms, and digital custodians. Non-professional investors—meaning any individual wishing to invest—will be permitted to trade cryptocurrencies, but only after passing a special assessment and within an annual limit of 300,000 rubles per intermediary.
Legal cryptocurrency trading will be required to take place only on exchanges licensed by the Central Bank, and the custody and accounting of assets will be entrusted to digital depositaries. Existing securities market depositaries may obtain this status, provided they are included in the special register of the Bank of Russia. Previously, the Bank of Russia defined criteria for such organizations. The minimum charter capital must be 50 million rubles, and 100 million rubles if operating with foreign systems. For settlement depositaries (those that conduct transaction settlements themselves), the requirement will be 250 million rubles. Depositaries must maintain complete records of all transactions and screen clients for suspicious transfers.
Brokers and asset management companies from the stock market will be able to act as intermediaries between exchanges and investors. In addition, they will be granted the ability to assist Russian clients in interacting with foreign crypto infrastructure. Crypto exchange operations will be legalized provided certain conditions are met: official registration and compliance with the Central Bank’s established capital requirements.
Only cryptocurrencies with high market capitalization (at least 5 trillion rubles), sufficient liquidity, and a long pricing history will be allowed for trading on Russian exchanges. According to First Deputy Governor of the Central Bank Vladimir Chistyukhin, Bitcoin, Ethereum, and the stablecoin USDT meet these criteria. However, stablecoins are not mentioned in the law.
Russian authorities will permit cryptocurrency operations and storage exclusively through custodial wallets, where private data is controlled by the exchange or another service. Cold wallets will be allowed only for participants in foreign economic activity.
Exchangers planning to operate legally in Russia are forming a self-regulatory organization (SRO) for digital currency operators. The founding congress is scheduled to take place on September 1 in Moscow, reported Blockchain Life conference organizer Sergey Khitrov. According to him, any exchanger can join the SRO without a membership fee.
Until July 1, 2027, a so-called transition period is in effect, during which all interested parties will obtain the necessary licenses. After this date, all Russian cryptocurrency transactions must be conducted exclusively through licensed intermediaries, and banks will be authorized to block transfers to unauthorized crypto services. Starting September 1, 2027, the “48-hour cooling-off” rule for cryptocurrency transfers between wallets and fiat accounts will come into effect.
Even before the law was signed by the president, the Central Bank of Russia published several draft regulations on the regulation of digital assets. In particular, the Central Bank intends to allow non-professional investors to trade cryptocurrencies with leverage, meaning using borrowed funds.