Russia's State Duma passed the country's first comprehensive law regulating digital currencies on Tuesday, clearing its second and third readings in a single session, according to a report from TASS , the Russian state news agency.
The bill, submitted by the Russian government, now moves to the Federation Council and then to President Vladimir Putin for signature, with most provisions taking effect September 1.
The law establishes rules for crypto exchanges, digital depositories, brokers, management companies, trading organizers and clearing organizations, and sets conditions under which investors can buy cryptocurrency. Only organizations listed in a special registry will be permitted to operate as digital currency exchanges, though firms can continue operating without registration until July 1, 2027. Banks will be required to refuse transfers if they suspect a transaction involves an unregistered exchange operator.
Retail investors who have not qualified as sophisticated investors will be able to buy the most liquid cryptocurrencies through licensed intermediaries, subject to an annual cap of 300,000 rubles, roughly $3,800, per intermediary. Qualified investors face no such limit and can purchase any cryptocurrency, though both categories must pass a specified test, and qualified status can be earned partly through a track record of prior crypto transactions. The law also guarantees judicial protection for digital currency holders regardless of whether their holdings were previously declared.
The legislation keeps Russia's existing ban on using digital currencies to pay for goods and services domestically, and bars advertising that suggests crypto can be used that way. It carves out several exceptions: settlements under foreign trade contracts between Russian residents and non-residents, transactions involving mined cryptocurrency, fees required by the rules of a given information system, and settlements involving securities or other digital rights.
The bill follows a framework the Bank of Russia proposed in December 2025 and arrives months after the European Union adopted its toughest sanctions package yet targeting Russian crypto activity, which included a full ban on providers and platforms established in Russia. The EU said at the time that Russia was becoming increasingly reliant on cryptocurrencies for international transactions, a dynamic this law formalizes domestically by explicitly permitting crypto in foreign trade settlements while keeping it out of everyday retail payments.
