Key facts
- Russia's crypto industry may operate legally by year-end, according to the central bank.
- Central bank Deputy Governor Vladimir Chistyukhin said regulations are on schedule.
- Unqualified investors can buy up to 300,000 rubles ($3,582) of bitcoin and other assets through an intermediary.
- Qualified investors have no limits on bitcoin and asset purchases.
- Sberbank plans to launch a crypto wallet and digital asset custody by December.
- Using digital assets as a means of payment or legal tender within Russia has been prohibited since 2022.
Russia's central bank anticipates that the country's cryptocurrency industry could be operating within a legal framework by the end of 2026. Vladimir Chistyukhin, deputy governor of the Bank of Russia, stated that the development of subordinate regulations is progressing as scheduled, with the "fine-tuning" of internal rules expected to conclude this year.
President Vladimir Putin signed a law in August that formalizes the regulation of digital currencies and digital rights in Russia. However, the use of bitcoin for payments remains prohibited. The central bank has approved bitcoin trading for the public on Russian crypto exchanges. Unqualified investors are permitted to purchase up to 300,000 rubles ($3,582) worth of bitcoin and other assets via an intermediary, while qualified investors face no such limits.
Sberbank, Russia's largest bank, intends to introduce a Bitcoin and crypto wallet, along with digital asset custody services, by December. The bank projected that its new crypto offering could achieve a trading volume of 4 trillion rubles ($47 billion) in its first year.
Despite past positive remarks from President Putin about Bitcoin, its use as a medium of exchange has been banned since 2022. Russian lawmakers have, however, created an exception for international payments, which is seen as a potential strategy to circumvent Western sanctions. Russia's finance minister has indicated that Russian companies have been utilizing Bitcoin to navigate penalties imposed after the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, which led to the country's exclusion from the SWIFT payment system.