Russia’s Finance Ministry says foreign crypto firms can work in Russia, but only on equal terms with local players

Russia’s Finance Ministry says it is ready to build partnerships with foreign crypto venues and does not rule out “landing” foreign companies in Russia, meaning they could be allowed or required to open local units and representative offices. For high-risk payment providers, the point is straightforward: access to Russian users is being framed as conditional on using domestic infrastructure, not on running the same cross-border setup they use elsewhere.

1. Deputy Finance Minister Alexey Chebeskov said the ministry is prepared to work with “any foreign platforms” and is considering the “landing” of foreign companies in Russia. In practice, that means foreign crypto businesses could be pushed toward a local presence if they want to keep serving Russian customers.
2. Chebeskov said foreign crypto companies that decide to operate in Russia would face strong competition from domestic infrastructure. He also said foreign firms are interested in preserving access to Russian clients without having to change their business model too drastically.
3. The ministry’s condition for admitting foreign participants to the state-controlled crypto market is equal operating terms with Russian players. Chebeskov summed up the policy in one line: “We want our citizens to be in the domestic infrastructure.”
4. Chebeskov previously said the Finance Ministry expects crypto to flow in large volumes from foreign exchanges and wallets once trading starts on state-regulated platforms. He said that such inflows would help investors avoid abnormal gaps in crypto exchange rates.
5. According to Chebeskov, Russian users have opened more than 10 million wallets on foreign platforms. He also said Russia has around 20 million crypto investors in total, with combined crypto asset holdings of at least 3.7 trillion rubles.

For PSPs, acquirers, and banking partners, the signal is less about ideology and more about routing: Russia appears to want crypto activity inside its own infrastructure, with foreign players welcome only if they accept local rules, local setup, and local competition.