Russia’s State Duma passed Bill No. 1194918-8, “On Digital Currency and Digital Rights,” in its second and third readings on Tuesday, July 21, 2026, moving the country closer to a licensed system for crypto trading, custody, and cross-border settlement.
What the Law Does
The legislation recognizes cryptocurrency as property rather than money under the Russian civil code, giving crypto holdings judicial protection in courts, bankruptcy filings, and divorce proceedings.
It creates five categories of licensed intermediaries, which are exchanges, brokers, management companies, depositories, and exchangers, all operating under Bank of Russia supervision, with banks barred from sending payments to unlicensed foreign exchanges.
Non-qualified retail investors face an annual purchase cap of 300,000 rubles, roughly $3,800, while qualified investors get higher limits around 3 million rubles under separate rules. An earlier requirement that holders disclose individual wallet addresses was dropped in favor of reporting balances and transaction volumes, and certain large transfers abroad could face delays of up to 48 hours.
Retail-eligible tokens must clear a whitelist maintained by the Central Bank, with draft criteria requiring an average market cap above 5 trillion rubles over two years, daily trading volume above 1 trillion rubles, and at least five years of price history on a licensed foreign exchange, a bar likely to leave only a handful of large-cap assets like Bitcoin and Ethereum eligible for Russian retail investors.
Russia’s Finance Ministry has previously estimated domestic crypto trading activity at around 50 billion rubles, roughly $640 million, per day, much of it currently occurring outside formal oversight.
Domestic Payments Stay Banned, With New Penalties
Crypto remains banned as a payment method for ordinary goods and services inside Russia, preserving the ruble’s role in domestic commerce.
A parallel measure introduces administrative fines starting in 2026 for illegal crypto payments, ranging from 100,000 to 200,000 rubles for individuals and 700,000 to 1,000,000 rubles for legal entities, with authorities able to confiscate crypto used in violation.
Andrey Medvedev, director of the Central Bank’s legal department, confirmed this enforcement structure, with three narrow exceptions remaining, which are crypto-to-crypto exchanges on licensed platforms, paying for securities outside a public offering, and covering blockchain network fees for on-chain transfers.
On cross-border trade, Russian companies can now use approved digital assets for cross-border settlements through licensed intermediaries, giving exporters and importers a legal channel outside traditional correspondent banking.
Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Grigorenko’s office confirmed that legal international crypto deals, including selling crypto abroad and settling foreign economic activity, remain permitted under the new framework.
Anatoly Aksakov, chairman of the Duma’s Financial Market Committee, said the legislation reflects industry feedback and should let companies supplying goods to Russia use crypto internationally without excessive legal barriers.
This comes as Western regulators increase scrutiny of Russia-linked crypto flows, with the European Commission proposing wider restrictions in June on overseas platforms accused of helping sanctioned Russian entities move funds.
Russian Banks Are Already Preparing
Major Russian financial institutions are positioning ahead of the framework taking effect.
Sberbank plans to launch a crypto wallet and custody services and is considering giving clients access to foreign exchanges.
Moreover, VTB and T-Bank have announced custody infrastructure plans, and Alfa-Bank has been testing crypto trading with a limited investor group while developing its own digital asset depository.
Moscow Exchange has shown interest in regulated crypto services too, building on its earlier rollout of crypto indices tracking SOL, XRP, and BNB for professional investors.
What Comes Next
The bill still needs Federation Council approval, expected within 14 days, followed by President Vladimir Putin’s signature, before main provisions take effect September 1, 2026, with full enforcement of the licensed-intermediary system arriving July 1, 2027. Our earlier coverage of the bill’s scheduled final vote tracked the lead-up to this passage.
Notably, Russia’s digital ruble central bank digital currency is also set to begin its broader rollout on September 1, with major banks and large retailers required to support it in stages, putting two major digital finance initiatives on the same timeline. Russia is separately said to be developing a framework for fiat-backed stablecoins focused on international settlement.
What this means for you: this law formalizes an institutional channel for Russian cross-border trade and licensed domestic custody, not a new retail on-ramp, so its most immediate relevance is to companies, exchanges, and banks positioning around compliant infrastructure rather than individual investors inside Russia.
