Russia passes crypto market law in second and third readings, with rules taking effect on 1 September 2026

Russia’s State Duma has approved a nearly 300-page law on cryptocurrency regulation in second and third readings, with only 5 Communist lawmakers abstaining. For high-risk PSPs, the important part is not the headline “legalization,” but the structure: crypto remains available as an investment asset, while the rail from crypto back into rubles through ordinary Russian financial infrastructure is being narrowed.

1. The law sets the basic rules for how crypto can be used inside Russia and in foreign economic activity. The main provisions take effect on 1 September 2026.
2. Most Russian individuals will be allowed to buy coins only up to 300k rubles per year. Holdings are not being capped, so users can keep crypto in private wallets or trade it on popular crypto exchanges, but the ability to cash out into rubles through standard channels will be heavily restricted.
3. Qualified investors will be able to buy any cryptocurrencies except anonymous ones, without limits. Retail users will be able to buy crypto abroad and transfer it abroad, but only with mandatory notification to the tax authorities. The law also plans liability for illegal intermediary activity in the crypto market from 1 July 2027 if an exchange sells currency to a non-qualified buyer.
4. The likely winners are existing players in the Russian financial system: banks, brokers, exchanges, including Moscow Exchange. Crypto depositories are also mentioned, although the source notes that their economics may be limited by the closed nature of the setup. On the local market, brokers and asset managers will act as intermediaries between investors and exchanges, and they will also be able to intermediate between Russian clients and foreign crypto infrastructure, but they will need additional licenses.
5. Crypto exchange shops will be allowed to conduct fiat-to-crypto and crypto-to-fiat transactions in non-cash form, but they must register officially and comply with capital requirements. Crypto inside Russia is being treated only as an investment instrument, so payment use is prohibited. Trading will be limited to high-cap, liquid assets with a long price history, specifically bitcoin, ethereum, and the USDT stablecoin.

There is also a testing requirement for individuals who want to invest in these assets, and non-qualified investors will face a portfolio-size cap. The exact threshold is not set in the law; the Central Bank will define it later.