CoinDesk
Russia's State Duma passed the country's first comprehensive cryptocurrency law on Tuesday, creating a legal framework for exchanges, depositories and other digital asset providers that takes effect Sept. 1. Only entities in a special registry will be allowed to operate as crypto exchanges, with unregistered firms permitted to continue until July 1, 2027, and banks ordered to refuse transfers tied to unauthorized platforms.
Retail investors can buy the most liquid cryptocurrencies through licensed intermediaries, subject to an annual cap of roughly $3,800 per intermediary. Qualified investors face no such ceiling. The law also guarantees judicial protection for digital-asset holders regardless of prior declarations, and regulates mining, issuance, brokers, asset managers, trading platforms and clearing houses.
Why it matters
The framework formalizes what had been a grey market, giving Russian courts explicit authority over crypto disputes and pulling exchanges into a supervised registry. For ordinary citizens, the $3,800 ceiling is restrictive, but qualified buyers and corporate users can move at full scale, turning crypto into a sanctioned-but-legal tool for capital flows. The move lands weeks after the EU rolled out its most aggressive sanctions package yet, including a complete ban on crypto providers and platforms established in Russia. The EU has argued Moscow is increasingly using digital assets for cross-border transactions.
Market impact
The foreign-trade carve-out is the substantive change: digital currencies can be used to settle cross-border contracts between Russian residents and non-residents, along with transactions involving mined crypto, platform-required payments and securities or other digital-asset settlements. Domestic payments in crypto remain prohibited, and banks are barred from advertising or promoting crypto payments. The combination positions Russia alongside a small group of jurisdictions that have formally legalized crypto rails for trade while keeping retail exposure tightly capped.
Frequently asked questions
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What does Russia's new crypto law actually do?
It creates a legal framework for crypto exchanges, depositories and other digital asset providers effective Sept. 1, restricts exchange activity to entities in a special registry, caps retail purchases at roughly $3,800 per intermediary per year and grants judicial protection to crypto holders regardless of prior…
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How much crypto can ordinary Russians buy under the law?
Retail investors can buy the most liquid cryptocurrencies through licensed intermediaries, subject to an annual ceiling of about $3,800 per intermediary. Qualified investors face no such restriction.
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Can Russians use crypto to pay for goods inside the country?
No. The law keeps Russia's longstanding ban on using crypto for domestic payments of goods and services, and prohibits banks and other entities from advertising or promoting crypto payments.
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Why is the foreign-trade carve-out the most important part?
It allows digital currencies to settle cross-border contracts between Russian residents and non-residents, plus transactions involving mined crypto, platform-required payments and securities or other digital-asset settlements. That turns crypto into a sanctioned-but-legal tool for routing around Western restrictions.
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How does the new law interact with EU sanctions?
It lands weeks after the EU rolled out its most aggressive sanctions package yet, including a complete ban on crypto providers and platforms established in Russia. Moscow has framed digital assets as increasingly important for international transactions, the same argument the EU used to justify the new measures.
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