- Russia will vote on a crypto rulebook in June, aiming to legalise Bitcoin for retail and institutional investors by July 2027.
- Exchanges will face strict licensing, with unregistered platforms facing criminal penalties and fines similar to illegal banking.
- Retail trading will be capped, featuring a proposed $4,000 annual limit and a “whitelist” of approved coins like Bitcoin and Ethereum.
Russia plans to introduce a full crypto rulebook this summer, with the goal of making legal Bitcoin (BTC) access possible for both retail and institutional investors by mid-2027, according to Anatoly Aksakov, who leads the State Duma’s financial markets committee.
Aksakov said the package will be ready for lawmakers to vote on at the end of June. If it passes, the law is expected to take effect on July 1, 2027.
The biggest change is that crypto exchanges would be brought into a licensing regime. Today, many platforms operate in a legal gray area. Under the draft approach, running an exchange without registration would be treated like illegal banking, which means that penalties could include fines and, in serious cases, prison.
Russia has argued for years over whether to regulate crypto or ban it, going back and forth with it, and just reaching deadlock after deadlock. The finance ministry is pushing for regulation and taxes, and the central bank is pushing for a China-style ban.
That constant deadlock has eased as crypto use has grown, especially for cross-border payments that avoid dollars.
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Limited Access and Cryptocurrencies
Aksakov pointed to rising demand from banks and traders for access to “real” crypto rather than only derivative exposure. In parallel, the central bank still plans to launch the digital ruble nationwide in September.
Retail access would come with limits. Aksakov said retail buyers will need to pass an eligibility test. Lawmakers have also discussed a yearly cap of US$4,000 (AU$5.6K) for retail crypto purchases.
Alexandra Fedotova, lawyer at White Stone Consulting, told Parliamentary Gazette that retail trading may be restricted to a short list of top cryptocurrencies set by the central bank:
The central bank will most likely compile a list of the top five or 10 highest-cap cryptocurrencies on major crypto exchanges. That list will definitely include Bitcoin and Ethereum. It might also include Solana and Toncoin, given their popularity in Russia.
Lawyer Alexandra Fedotova, White Stone Consulting
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