Russia2026-09-28 03:30:47Russian finance ministry says more than 20 million people hold crypto worth 3.7 trillion rublesRussia’s Deputy Finance Minister Ivan Chebeskov said at least 20 million Russians have invested in crypto products, with combined holdings of about 3.7 trillion rubles, or roughly $44 billion. He said those assets are mainly used for foreign trade settlements, mining, trading on offshore exchanges, and savings. At the same time, Russia is moving ahead with a regulatory framework that would allow both qualified and non-qualified investors to hold and trade crypto assets on domestically regulated exchanges. The country is still keeping a ban on using crypto for everyday payments, while also advancing the digital ruble as a payment instrument under direct state oversight. The remarks outline Russia’s current two-track approach: opening space for regulated investment and trading, while limiting crypto’s role in routine payments and promoting a state-controlled digital alternative.280
Russia2026-09-28 03:30:27Russian deputy finance minister says 20 million residents hold nearly $44 billion in cryptoRussia’s Deputy Finance Minister Ivan Chebeskov said at least 20 million Russians have invested in crypto products, with total holdings reaching about 3.7 trillion rubles, or roughly $44 billion. He said the assets are mainly used for foreign trade settlements, mining, trading on offshore exchanges, and savings. At the same time, Russia is moving ahead with a regulatory framework that would allow both qualified and non-qualified investors to hold and trade crypto assets on regulated domestic exchanges. The country still bans the use of crypto for everyday payments, while continuing to promote the digital ruble as a payment instrument directly supervised by the state. The report was cited by Bitcoin.com News.280
Bank of Russi2026-09-14 01:39:50Russia’s digital ruble goes live nationwide, adds nearly 87,000 accounts in 10 daysRussia’s central bank has rolled out the digital ruble across the country, and Governor Elvira Nabiullina said the system added nearly 87,000 new accounts over the past 10 days, with more than 50,000 transactions recorded in that period. She said a small number of banks ran into technical issues while opening accounts and processing some transactions, but those problems have already been resolved, with no widespread outages or a large volume of complaints. The Bank of Russia is also trimming the number of steps required to open accounts and complete transactions while keeping security protections in place. The nationwide launch follows real-user testing that began in 2023. Use of the digital ruble will remain optional for consumers. Under the rollout plan, 12 major Russian banks and retailers with annual revenue above 120 million rubles, or about $1.42 million, are required to accept digital ruble payments. More companies are set to be brought into the system before 2028.870
Russia2026-09-11 11:47:44Russian and Indian central banks work on digital currency trade settlement mechanismThe central banks of Russia and India are working together on a mechanism to settle bilateral trade with digital currencies, according to ChainCatcher. The stated aim is to improve the efficiency of cross-border payments between the two countries. Russia has already launched the digital ruble, while India’s digital currency has been used in government projects. The two sides are also set to discuss digital-currency-based trade settlement with BRICS countries at a summit in New Delhi. The update points to ongoing official coordination between the two central banks on how digital currency infrastructure could be used in cross-border commerce.840
Pump.fun2026-09-01 13:53:06WuBlockchain roundup: Pump.fun securities claims dismissed, Russia expands digital ruble rolloutA federal court in New York has dismissed securities-law claims tied to meme tokens in the Pump.fun class action and threw out all claims against Solana Labs, the Solana Foundation, and related executives, finding the tokens failed the "common enterprise" element of the Howey Test. The case is still moving forward on other fronts: claims against Pump.fun’s operating company and three founders, including RICO fraud and alleged unlicensed money transmission, were allowed to proceed into discovery. Elsewhere, Russia is entering a broader digital ruble rollout from Sept. 1, with systemically important banks and large merchants required to support payments first, while individuals remain free to opt in. Arkham researcher Emmett Gallic said addresses tied to the sanctioned North Korean hacking group Lazarus Group recently moved more than $30 million through Hyperliquid, with funds later bridged across multiple chains and sent to exchanges and untagged services. Strategy has also urged MSCI to withdraw a proposal that could exclude so-called non-operating companies from its global investable market indexes, while prediction market platform Kalshi imposed its first lifetime trading ban on former U.S. Representative George Santos and fined him more than $70,000 over alleged market manipulation.990
CoinDesk2026-08-31 08:22:28Crypto Week Ahead: U.S. Jobs Report and Russia’s Digital Ruble in FocusCoinDesk has flagged two items for the crypto market in the week starting Aug. 31: the U.S. jobs report and Russia’s digital ruble rollout. The source material provided here is brief and framed as a week-ahead preview, with no added detail in the available digest. CoinDesk’s summary says it offers a look at what is coming in the week beginning Aug. 31. Based on the input, the piece is positioned as a short calendar-style setup for market participants watching macro data and state-backed digital currency developments. No further specifics were included in the available feed excerpt.280
Russia2026-08-30 09:56:00Russia's Sber Plans to Add USDT, Ethereum to Loan CollateralRussia's largest bank, Sber, is preparing to expand its crypto loan collateral beyond bitcoin to include Tether's USDT stablecoin and ether. The bank previously listed bitcoin as its only crypto collateral option. Anatoly Popov, the bank's deputy chairman, said the move will follow the implementation of Russia's new cryptocurrency law and requires central bank approval for public trading of these assets. President Vladimir Putin signed the law on August 4, with key provisions taking effect on September 1, granting the central bank authority to decide which crypto assets can be traded on regulated exchanges. On August 11, the central bank proposed allowing bitcoin, ether, and USDT on such venues, citing their market cap, trading volumes, and at least five years of overseas price history. In the meantime, Sber's chief financial officer, Taras Skvortsov, took a cautious stance on the digital ruble, a central bank digital currency, saying he sees no notable interest from retail or corporate clients outside the central bank itself.860
Digital Ruble2026-08-26 03:52:54Russia's Top Three Telecom Operators to Accept Digital Ruble Payments Starting September 1Russia's major telecom operators MTS, Rostelecom, and Megafon have announced they will begin accepting digital ruble payments from September 1. MTS will enable digital ruble use across all services within MTS Pay with no category restrictions. Rostelecom will initially support one-time payments on its website, with expansion to personal accounts planned later. E-commerce platforms Wildberries and Ozon will also launch digital ruble payments on the same date. Under Russian law, all large enterprises must be able to process digital ruble transactions from September 1, and 12 systemically important banks must integrate digital ruble wallet access into their apps. The central bank plans to cap monthly wallet top-ups at 300,000 rubles per bank.1200
