Russia’s government has approved a package of draft bills to legalize digital currencies, imposing significant regulations on their circulation and limiting retail investor access.
The Finance Ministry announced the approval on Monday, outlining a framework that prohibits transactions involving digital currency without regulated intermediaries. The new rules will enhance state oversight of digital assets while allowing restricted access for non-qualified investors and more lenient terms for qualified investors.
Retail investors will face strict limitations, with the definition of “most liquid digital currencies” to be determined by the Bank of Russia. Under the new guidelines, retail investors must pass a test and are capped at purchases of 300,000 rubles ($3,700) annually through a single intermediary. Residents can still buy cryptocurrencies abroad using foreign accounts, but such transactions must be reported to tax authorities.
The legislative package consists of bills on digital currencies and rights, amendments to existing laws, and modifications to the administrative offenses code. A licensing regime for crypto operations, including exchanges and custodial services, will be established. Banks and brokers can engage in crypto activities, provided they adhere to specified regulatory requirements.
The framework also includes administrative penalties for organizations that violate exchange activity regulations, reinforcing the government’s intent to oversee unregulated crypto trading.
Critics argue that these regulations may drive crypto transactions to unregulated platforms instead of strengthening oversight. “At a time when the rest of the world is moving toward liberalizing access to equity markets through tokenization, we are, for some reason, doing the opposite by pushing crypto into a framework of securities market regulation,” said Exved founder Sergey Mendeleev. He compared the impending situation to that of casinos, stating, “In the end, it will be like with casinos — people won’t play less, but everything will move out of state control into online and underground venues.”
