Putin signs Russia’s crypto control law: licensed exchanges, KYC-style testing, and a 300,000 ruble annual cap for retail investors

Russia has put a formal framework around crypto trading, custody, and exchange services. For PSPs and other high-risk payment players, the important part is not the headline but the plumbing: who may intermediate trades, who may hold assets, and when banks get the power to block transfers to unlicensed crypto services.

1. President Vladimir Putin signed the law “On Digital Currency and Digital Rights,” which sets state control rules for the circulation of cryptocurrencies in Russia. The new regime is scheduled to start on 1 September for investors, exchanges, exchangers, and digital custodians.
2. Retail investors, meaning non-professional investors, will be allowed to trade crypto only after special testing and within a limit of 300,000 rubles per year through one intermediary. In other words, access is permitted, but only through a measured funnel rather than a free-for-all.
3. Legal crypto trading will take place only on exchanges licensed by the Central Bank of Russia. Asset storage and accounting will be handled by digital custodians, and existing securities depositories may obtain that status if they are entered into the Bank of Russia’s special register. The Central Bank had already set criteria for such firms: minimum charter capital of 50 million rubles, or 100 million rubles if they work with foreign systems. For settlement depositories, which settle transactions themselves, the requirement rises to 250 million rubles.
4. Depositories will have to keep full transaction records and check clients for suspicious transfers. Brokers and asset managers from the securities market will be able to act as intermediaries between exchanges and investors, and they will also be allowed to help Russian clients interact with foreign crypto infrastructure.
5. Crypto exchangers will be legalized if they formally register and meet Central Bank capital requirements. Exchanges in Russia will be limited to cryptocurrencies with high capitalization, sufficient liquidity, and a long price history; according to Vladimir Chistyukhin, the Central Bank’s first deputy governor, that list includes bitcoin, ether, and the USDT stablecoin. The catch: stablecoins are not mentioned in the law itself.

There is also a transition period running until 1 July 2027. After that date, all Russians’ crypto transactions must go through licensed intermediaries, and banks will be able to block transfers to unauthorized crypto services. A further rule is due to start on 1 September 2027, but the source text cuts off before specifying what it is.