Russia is moving toward a much more structured approach to crypto regulation. The country’s lower house of parliament, the State Duma, has advanced a wide-ranging bill intended to place the digital asset market under formal legal supervision. In the first reading, 327 of 340 deputies voted in favor, a strong sign that the proposal has significant political backing. The draft law, titled “On Digital Currency and Digital Rights,” was introduced by the Russian government and lays out a framework for how cryptocurrencies may be issued, traded, held, and stored.
If enacted in its current form, the law would come into force on July 1, 2026, although some of its provisions would be implemented later. The bill defines core legal concepts such as the “circulation of digital currency” and the “organization of digital rights circulation.” It also identifies which kinds of institutions may legally participate in the market. Rather than opening crypto activity broadly, the proposal aims to channel it into a tightly supervised framework built around authorization, licensing, and central bank oversight.
The draft creates five categories of regulated market participants: exchanges, brokers, management companies, depositories, and exchangers. All of them would need licenses and would operate under the supervision of the Bank of Russia. The central bank would also receive broad authority not only to approve and regulate such entities, but to impose transaction limits and compliance obligations. In practical terms, this would place the Russian crypto market under a gatekept system in which access is determined by formal approval and ongoing regulatory control.
Digital currency would be treated as property
One of the most consequential parts of the bill is its decision to classify digital currency as property. This is more than a definitional update. It would give crypto holdings a recognized place in legal disputes and judicial procedures. Assets held in digital currency could be taken into account in bankruptcy proceedings, divorce settlements, and other cases where ownership and asset division matter. For a market long affected by uncertainty over the legal status of on-chain holdings, this provision could become a foundational change.
That recognition, however, does not mean crypto becomes a general-purpose payment instrument inside Russia. The bill explicitly preserves a strict ban on using cryptocurrency for domestic payments. The Russian ruble would remain the country’s only lawful means of payment. So while the state may accept crypto as a form of property, it is not willing to allow it to compete with the national currency in everyday domestic transactions.
The proposal takes a different stance when it comes to foreign trade. It would permit digital currencies to be used in cross-border commercial settlements. This is one of the most closely watched elements of the legislation, because it gives Russian companies a potential channel for paying overseas counterparties outside conventional financial systems. Supporters argue that this could help firms navigate sanctions pressure and maintain international trade flows when traditional banking and settlement routes are constrained.
Investor restrictions and market access would become more controlled
The bill introduces a tiered investor regime rather than treating all market participants the same way. Qualified investors would face fewer restrictions, while non-qualified participants would have to pass testing and could be subject to annual limits on crypto purchases. Lawmakers say the goal is to reduce the risk exposure of retail investors who may not fully understand the volatility and operational risks of digital assets. In effect, the framework borrows from suitability rules common in traditional finance and adapts them to the crypto market.
Access to crypto trading would also be narrowed through licensed intermediaries. The proposed framework limits market participation to approved channels, meaning that transactions conducted outside such intermediaries would face tighter scrutiny. A broader ban on these kinds of direct transactions is scheduled to take effect in 2027. The draft therefore does not eliminate all direct activity immediately, but it clearly signals that the policy direction is toward stronger control over how users enter and move within the market.
Until that wider ban begins, peer-to-peer transactions would remain legal. Even so, enforcement mechanisms are expected to arrive earlier. The bill points to tools such as payment blocking and blacklisting systems, which could be used before the formal 2027 restrictions take hold. That suggests regulators may use the transition period not as a pause, but as a staged tightening process designed to reduce reliance on non-licensed channels over time.
Custody, withdrawals, and mining are all addressed
The legislation also lays out a new framework for digital asset custody. Under the proposal, a dedicated digital depository system would manage crypto holdings. This could shift a meaningful share of compliant market activity away from purely self-managed storage and toward institutionally supervised custody. The bill also places restrictions on transfers to personal wallets and limits withdrawals to approved foreign institutions. Those provisions point to a much more controlled model for how assets may leave regulated platforms and where they can be held.
If implemented, these custody rules could materially reshape user behavior. For market participants who prefer self-custody and direct control of private keys, the operational space for non-custodial arrangements may narrow. For institutions, by contrast, approved custody channels could become more central. This is also why the legal treatment of non-custodial wallets is emerging as a key policy fault line: once digital currency is recognized as property, the state must also define how private ownership is protected and how far regulatory authority can extend into wallet usage.
Mining is covered as well. The bill requires mining activity to use Russian infrastructure and mandates formal accounting of mined assets. That means the state is not only focused on trading venues and investor access, but also on the creation and registration of digital assets at the source. For miners and mining companies, compliance may increasingly depend on where infrastructure is located, how production is recorded, and whether the resulting assets are properly accounted for under the new rules.
More readings remain, and revisions are still possible
Although the first reading showed strong parliamentary support, the draft is not yet settled. Some lawmakers and parliamentary committees have already asked for revisions. The State Duma Committee on Competition Protection warned that excessive regulation could hinder market development. If the licensing burden, custody controls, transaction restrictions, and enforcement mechanisms become too heavy, the compliant market may struggle to grow and innovate.
The Committee on Financial Markets has raised a different set of concerns. It wants greater clarity on how non-custodial wallets will be treated and stronger legal safeguards for privately held assets. These concerns are especially important because once crypto is defined as property, questions of ownership protection become more acute. The issue is no longer only whether the state can regulate the market, but also how it should balance supervision with the legal rights of individuals and firms that hold digital assets directly.
Procedurally, the bill must still pass two more readings in the State Duma before moving to the Federation Council and then to the president for signature. Amendments for the second reading are due within two weeks. So while the current draft already sets out the broad direction of Russian crypto policy, the final shape of the law could still change. Even at this stage, however, the signal is clear: Russia is building a formal legal regime that recognizes crypto as property, permits its use in cross-border trade, and simultaneously imposes tighter market entry, stronger custody controls, and broader oversight under the Bank of Russia.