Russia has advanced a key crypto bill on its first reading, as part of its efforts to establish a framework and fully bring the digital assets market out of the shadows in the next few months.
Russia Moves To Regulate Crypto Market By Summer
On Tuesday, the State Duma, the lower house of Russia’s legislature, advanced a key bill to legalize cryptocurrencies and establish a framework to regulate the digital assets in the country’s market.
According to the state news agency TASS, lawmakers passed the bill “On Digital Currency and Digital Rights” on its first reading, with 327 deputies voting in favor. The Russian government first introduced the draft in December 2025, seeking to establish the regulatory framework by summer 2026.
After clearing its first review, the bill still needs to clear the second and third readings in the State Duma. Then, it would proceed to the Federation Council, the upper chamber of the Federal Assembly, for consideration before reaching the President’s desk for signature. If passed, the bill will take effect on July 1, 2026, except for provisions with different effective dates, TASS reported.
The draft will recognize digital assets as property and grant the Central Bank of Russia (CBR) the authority to license, regulate, and oversee the local crypto market. Under the proposed legislation, only licensed professional participants supervised by the Bank of Russia will be allowed into the market.
“No anonymous exchanges or ‘black’ brokers. Exchanges, brokers, and depositories will receive licenses, and the Central Bank will monitor compliance. Transactions conducted through underground platforms will automatically be at risk of being blocked and of losing funds,” Kaplan Panesh, deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on Budget and Taxes, explained.
The bill also defines the entities authorized to facilitate the circulation of crypto assets in the country, including exchanges, brokers, trust managers, and digital depositories holding the relevant licenses from the central bank.
The proposed draft establishes rules and requirements for authorized entities, and a simplified access procedure for entities already operating under the CBR’s experimental legal regime. It also introduces a simplified procedure for banks and brokers wanting to dive into crypto.
Discussing the regulation of crypto mining activities using Russian information infrastructure facilities, the deputy highlighted that “It is now a legal activity, but with clear rules: the use of only Russian infrastructure, and the reporting of equipment and currency produced.”
Digital Assets Allowed For Cross-Border Settlements
Notably, the bill will prohibit the use of crypto for paying for goods, services, or labor within the country, the report noted. However, it will allow its use for cross-border settlements to bypass sanctions restrictions.
“We have a national currency—the ruble—and it must remain the sole legal tender,” Deputy Panesh emphasized. “But we are making an exception for foreign trade. This allows Russian companies to settle accounts with foreign counterparties using cryptocurrency, bypassing sanctions restrictions. In effect, we are creating a legal instrument for cross-border settlements.”
The legislation will also introduce a tiered system that would limit the investor’s access depending on classification, aiming to “protect ordinary people from losing all their savings in a volatile market.”
As Bitcoinist previously reported, non-qualified investors would be limited to purchasing up to 300,000 rubles annually, worth around $3,800, in the most liquid cryptocurrencies after passing a knowledge test. Meanwhile, qualified investors would be able to purchase unlimited amounts of any digital asset after passing a risk-awareness test.
Panesh noted that the digital asset market in Russia has been in a gray area for years, creating risks for both citizens and the economy, adding that the legislation marks a crucial step for the local market.
“Now we are clearly defining: digital currency is property. This means it can be defended in court, included in the bankruptcy estate, and taken into account in divorce proceedings. This is a crucial step for the legal protection of millions of people who already own such assets,” he concluded.
