Russia’s State Duma, the lower house of the parliament, has passed the On Digital Currency and Digital Rights bill, marking a major step toward the country’s first comprehensive legal framework for governing digital asset markets, including a licensing regime and rules for the operation of crypto exchanges, digital depositories, and market participants.
The legislation aims to bring digital asset activity under formal state oversight while permitting its use in controlled circumstances, particularly for cross-border trade. It will now proceed to the Federation Council, the upper house of parliament, and, if approved, to President Vladimir Putin’s desk to be signed into law.
New regime to bring clarity
Russia’s digital asset regime remains fragmented. Digital asset ownership, trading, mining, and cross-border use are permitted under sector-specific rules, while domestic payments remain prohibited. Current regulation largely relies on tax, anti-money laundering (AML), mining, and digital financial asset laws rather than a unified framework, leaving legal uncertainty despite a growing interest in the space in Russia, in part inspired by heavy international sanctions on the country.
To address this lack of clarity, the incoming framework will establish a licensing regime for digital asset exchanges, brokers, custodians, and digital asset depositories, all of which will operate under the supervision of the Bank of Russia.
The central bank will maintain registries of approved market participants and oversee compliance, giving the government significant influence over the domestic digital asset industry. Only organizations included in the special registry will be permitted to engage in digital currency exchange activities.
According to a July 21 report from the TASS Russian News Agency, there will be a grace period of two years to allow firms to operate without being listed in the registry while they apply for a license, giving digital asset players until July 1, 2027.
Retail participation will be tightly regulated, with non-qualified investors facing annual purchase limits of approximately 300,000 rubles (around $3,800) through licensed intermediaries, while qualified investors are permitted to purchase without such restrictions.
While the law maintains the current ban on using digital currencies and digital rights as a means of payment within Russia, there are a number of exceptions provided, including for settlements under foreign trade contracts between residents and non-residents; when using cryptocurrencies obtained through mining; and for settlements involving securities, other digital currencies, or digital rights.
In other words, the bill preserves the ruble as Russia’s sole legal tender while allowing digital assets to be used for investment and selected cross-border transactions.
If given the go-ahead by the upper house and Putin, the main part of the law will come into force on September 1, 2026, according to the TASS report.
Russia embraces crypto for sanctions relief
The unprecedented sanctions imposed on Russia since its illegal invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 have left the country facing growing economic isolation. In this precarious situation, Russia has increasingly turned to the digital asset space for relief—and evasion.
For example, in 2024 Russian lawmakers passed a bill allowing businesses to use digital assets in international trade, with digital assets subject to the same set of regulations as foreign currencies—such as the U.S. Dollar (USD)—in Russia.
This embracing of the digital asset space didn’t go unnoticed. In June 2024, Lithuania penalized digital asset firm Payeer €9.3 million ($10.1 million) for Russia-related sanction violations. Specifically, allowing Russian customers to transfer money to EU-sanctioned Russian banks.
More recently, on May 26, the United Kingdom Foreign Office revealed it would be ramping up measures against digital asset networks used to bypass Britain’s sanctions, in an effort to prevent Russia from exploiting the sector to circumvent the heavy economic sanctions.
“If the Kremlin thinks it can evade our sanctions by hiding behind crypto networks and shadow financial systems, it is gravely mistaken,” Foreign Secretary Cooper said at the time.
The Duma’s passage of the On Digital Currency and Digital Rights bill this week could be read as a further move by Russia to embrace a digital asset space that has become a lifeline for the pariah state.
Watch | Unlocking crypto futures: Key takeaways from Blockchain Futurist 2025
Be the first to comment