Russia signs first comprehensive law regulating digital currency circulation

President Vladimir Putin has signed Russia’s first law covering the full legal framework for digital currency circulation. For high-risk payment operators, the important part is not the headline itself but the split the law creates: a controlled onshore crypto market for licensed players, and a much tighter perimeter around everything else.

1. The law is a nearly 300-page document that sets requirements and restrictions for market participants, and defines how cryptocurrency can be used inside Russia and in foreign economic activity. Its main provisions take effect on 1 September 2026.
2. Paying for goods and services with cryptocurrency inside Russia remains banned. Cold wallets are fully legal, foreign exchanges are not prohibited, and the idea of forcing taxpayers to report crypto wallet ownership was discussed but removed from the final version.
3. A controlled digital asset market is coming sooner. From 1 September this year, licensed exchangers and brokers from the Central Bank’s register will enter the market. Anyone buying cryptocurrency will need to pass identification and stay within a 300k per year limit.
4. From 1 July next year, banks will be able to block transfers to foreign crypto platforms that the Central Bank does not include in its register. For transactions above 60k rubles, the user’s identity will be linked to the crypto wallet address.
5. P2p trading gets a transition period until 30 June 2027. After that, regular transactions between individuals, if they happen more than 2 times a month and exceed 3.5 million rubles, may be treated as exchange activity, which means a Central Bank license will be required.

Tax supervision is also getting stricter. The old 13-15% tax on profits remains, but from 2 May 2027 crypto holders will have to notify the tax authority about movements of funds through their wallets. In practical terms, this is a market where documentation stops being housekeeping and becomes part of staying operational.