Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed the law "On Digital Currencies and Digital Rights," which creates comprehensive regulation of cryptocurrency turnover in Russia—from purchases by citizens through licensed intermediaries to exchange trading, clearing, and digital depositories.
The document was published on Tuesday on the official legal information portal.
The law introduces infrastructure for a legal crypto market. Only specialized intermediaries will be allowed to organize digital currency circulation: trading organizers for organized trading, brokers for client orders, managers for trust management, and organizations for exchanging digital currencies (crypto exchangers). Digital depositories will handle accounting and storage of digital currencies.
An exchanger can only be a Russian business entity with own funds of at least 15 million rubles, included in the Central Bank's register. Until July 1, 2027, operation without inclusion in the register is allowed.
Settlements in cryptocurrency within the country remain prohibited: digital currencies and digital rights cannot be used to pay for goods, works, or services, and advertising such payments is also banned. Exceptions to the ban include settlements under foreign trade contracts between residents and non-residents, mining rewards, payment of network fees, and payment in cryptocurrency for securities, other digital currencies, and digital rights.
Only cryptocurrencies meeting Central Bank criteria are allowed for public exchange trading: average capitalization over 5 trillion rubles and average daily trading volume over 1 trillion rubles over two years. Cryptocurrencies outside these criteria may be admitted to public trading by the Central Bank's Board of Directors for up to six months. Additionally, trading organizers may admit any currencies not on the list to trading for qualified investors—such trading is not considered public circulation.
For foreign stablecoins, the law introduces a separate category: "non-deliverable foreign digital instrument," which certifies only monetary claims.
A separate section is devoted to mining: the activity is regulated, and a ban on mining is introduced for certain individuals with unexpunged criminal records.
The law comes into force on September 1, 2026, except for provisions with other effective dates. The requirement to conduct cryptocurrency transactions only through licensed intermediaries will take effect on July 1, 2027.