Russia opens a regulated crypto market while keeping payments off-limits
Putin signed a law that lets retail investors buy liquid crypto through registered intermediaries, caps annual purchases and preserves the ban on using tokens for domestic goods and services.
Russia now has a legal framework for organized crypto trading. President Vladimir Putin signed a law covering exchanges, custodians, brokers, clearing houses and investors, creating a supervised route into the market. The state-run TASS account of the law describes the measure as a broad framework for digital currency and digital rights.
Retail investors will be able to buy the most liquid digital currencies through approved intermediaries, with purchases capped at 300,000 rubles, about $3,700, per year at each intermediary. Qualified investors face no equivalent limit, but both groups must pass suitability testing. The first rulebook leaves the qualifying-asset list to later implementation.
Exchanges become gatekeepers
Crypto exchanges will have to join a special registry and meet a minimum equity requirement of 15 million rubles, or roughly $185,000. They must also join a self-regulatory organization for the financial market. Banks are expected to block transfers connected to exchange providers that are not authorized under the new system, making the registry the practical gateway for domestic access.
Trading is legal; domestic payments remain out
The law separates crypto investment from crypto spending. Digital currency cannot be used as legal tender for ordinary domestic goods and services, while exceptions cover foreign-trade contracts, mined crypto and specified settlement cases. Russia is therefore legalizing a controlled investment channel without turning tokens into a routine payment method inside the country.
The calendar matters
The core provisions take effect on Sept. 1, 2026. Rules covering the issuance and circulation of digital currency follow on Sept. 1, 2027, and existing exchange operators receive a transition period until March 1, 2027. The Bank of Russia's draft framework sets out how organized trading and digital-asset depositories could operate.
The next concrete signal is the registry: which venues qualify, which assets are admitted and how suitability tests work. Putin's signature changes the legal direction, but those implementation decisions will determine how much market access the law creates.
